The world of RNA

Günter Kahl is Professor for Plant Molecular Biology at the Biocenter of Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He currently holds the CSO position with GenXPro GmbH, a company for novel technologies in genomics and transcriptomics, located at the Research Innovation Centre (FIZ) in Frankfurt. After a Ph.D. in plant biochemistry, Dr. Kahl spent two postdoctoral years each at Michigan State University, East Lansing and California Institute of Technology, Pasadena USA). Main research: (1) gene technology, in particular the isolation and characterization of plant defense genes and their promoters, and the use of in vitro modified defense genes for the improvement of plant crops via gene transfer; (2) plant genome analysis, development of molecular marker technologies for genomic fingerprinting, establishment of genetic maps, map-based cloning of agronomically important genes, and extensive pathogen genome sequencing and (3) expression profiling of bacteria, plant, animal and human tissues with expression microarrays and other high-throughput techniques. Author of more than 250 scientific publications. Research supported by the German Research Council (DFG), the European Commission, Stiftung Volkswagenwerk, Fritz-Thyssen-Stiftung, Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and many others. Since most of his research is on crops of subtropical and tropical regions, he cooperates with a series of international and national research institutions in Japan, the USA, France, UK, Germany, Syria, India, Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Venezuela and Chile. Organized molecular marker courses in many countries and served in expert missions for IAEA, FAO and UNESCO.

Carlos Mauricio Molina Medina is a Colombian molecular biologist and bioinformatician, graduated from Frankfurt University with a Ph.D. thesis on "SuperSAGE, a deep transcriptome pprofiling technique" with upmost credits (in German "summa cum laude"). He spent two postdoctoral years in Dijon, France, where he intensively worked on the generation and characterization of plant mutants. He is preparing to leave for a position of an Assistant Professor at the University of Kiel (Germany). Dr. Molina has published a series of peer-reviewed publications and two book articles, and presented seminars on his research in Germany, France, England and the USA. He has extensive training and expertise in bioinformatics.

ErnestinaValadez-Moctezuma is a Mexican biologist graduated from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. She is full-time professor at the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, where heads the molecular biology laboratory. She teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in plant genetics, molecular biology and biotechnology, especially gene expression, and also conduct research on vegetable crops and plant protection. She has published numerous articles in different journals, some books and book chapters derived from personal and team work studies. Currently she is deeply involved in the area of molecular markers in plant crops and plant pathogens where she significantly contributed to e.g. the Mexican Opuntia genome and Fusarium and virus complex molecular characterization.