Guusje Bonnema

Guusje Bonnema is an Associate Professor in Plant Breeding at Wageningen University & Research's EPS Faculty. Her research focuses on Brassica species genetics, particularly domestication, morphological variation, and plant defense mechanisms. She leads projects on leafy head formation in cabbage, polyploid domestication, and insect resistance mechanisms. Bonnema has supervised multiple PhD candidates and collaborated on genomic sequencing initiatives for Brassica crops.

Research interests include: Brassica genomics, plant defense responses, morphological development, and genomic variation in crop species. Key projects involve dissecting genetic bases of leaf architecture and identifying loci controlling hypersensitive responses to insect herbivores.

Advising and grants: Active mentor to 12 PhD candidates including work on drought resilience, temperature effects, and intercropping systems. Projects funded by NWO and EU programs. Collaborations include teams at Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.

Lab affiliations: Plant Breeding Group within EPS Faculty. Involved in large-scale genomic projects including Brassica oleracea and Brassica rapa genome assemblies. Maintains close ties with industry partners for crop improvement applications.