معرفی
Prof. Dr. Athina Zouni serves as an Associate Professor at the Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences within the Faculty of Life Sciences at Humboldt University of Berlin. Her research program, centered on the Biophysics of Photosynthesis Group, investigates the structural and functional properties of photosynthetic protein complexes, particularly Photosystem I and II, to unravel the mechanisms of light-driven water oxidation and energy conversion.
Her work integrates state-of-the-art structural biology methodologies such as serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, and small-angle scattering to capture dynamic processes in photosynthesis at atomic resolution. Key research themes include the elucidation of water and proton channels in photosystem II, the characterization of intermediates in the oxygen-evolving cycle, and the engineering of biohybrid systems for solar fuel production and bioelectrochemical applications.
Dr. Zouni's laboratory actively develops photobioelectrodes by integrating photosynthetic complexes with nanomaterials for enhanced photocurrent generation and CO2 reduction. Her group collaborates internationally to advance fundamental understanding of photosynthesis while pioneering applications in renewable energy technologies through innovative protein-electrode interfaces and artificial photosynthetic systems.
