Gesa Hoffmann

Gesa Hoffmann is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm, Germany. She holds a PhD in Biology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (2023) and a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Vienna (2018).

• 2023: PhD, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
• 2018: MSc, University of Vienna
• 2015: BSc, University of Cologne

Her research focuses on molecular barriers preventing plant virus vertical transmission through sexual reproduction. Key areas include viral protein interactions with RNA granules, stress response modulation by plant viruses, and thermoresponsive transcriptional regulation in immunity. She investigates how Cauliflower mosaic virus exploits RNA processing machinery and how autophagy regulates cucumber mosaic virus infection.

Her work involves collaborations with institutions in Austria, Sweden, and Germany. She has published in journals such as New Phytologist, The Plant Cell, and Autophagy, with research themes spanning RNA biology, effector protein networks, and plant-pathogen co-evolution.

Scientific Awards:

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (2025–2027)
• EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship (2023–2025)
• Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society Outstanding PhD Award (2023)
• Lars-Henning Award for Best PhD Thesis in Uppsala (2023)
• Nilsson-Ehle Endowment (2019)

Currently, she leads research projects within the Max Planck Research Group Plant Germline Antiviral Immunity, supported by Twitter/X via @gesahoffmann. Her work combines molecular virology with plant developmental biology to address fundamental questions about antiviral immunity in plant stem cells.