Prof Claudia Kohler

Director, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany

After studying biology at the University of Halle, Prof. Claudia Köhler trained as a plant molecular cell biologist during her PhD at the University of Freiburg. Following her PhD, she moved to the University of Zurich, where she developed an interest in genomic imprinting and epigenetic processes affecting seed development. In 2005, she established her own laboratory at ETH Zurich and discovered that imprinted genes create reproductive barriers between plant species. In 2010, she was appointed as a full professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, and in 2021, she became the director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam. Claudia Köhler is an elected member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Science, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and a member of the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina. Her research focuses on epigenetic processes controlling seed development and their role in promoting species diversity.