Jane Parker

Jane Parker is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne. She has held prestigious positions including Max-Planck Fellow (2004-2009) and Senior Group Leader at the Max-Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. Her career spans institutions like the Sainsbury Laboratory and John Innes Centre, focusing on plant-microbe interactions.

• Education: BSc in Applied Biology (1st class hons, 1983) from University of Bradford, PhD in Botany/Microbiology (1987) from University of Wales, Swansea.

Her research centers on plant innate immunity, NLR receptor signaling, and biotic stress networks. She investigates how plants reprogram transcription during pathogen attacks and studies natural variation in defense mechanisms using Arabidopsis.

Jane has received significant recognition, including election to EMBO and the Leopoldina Academy. She serves on editorial boards for Science, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, and Trends in Plant Science. Her leadership roles include co-coordinating the CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence (2013-2018) and reviewing grants for major international funding bodies.