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Mather A Khan
Summary
Dr. Mather A Khan is a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Botanik, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany. Before moving to Germany, Dr. Khan worked as a Postdoctoral fellow and then as a Research Scientist at the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA.
Dr. Khan’s research interest is mainly focused on understanding the mechanisms mediating the uptake and accumulation of essential (Iron, Fe; Zinc, Zn) and toxic metals (Cadmium, Cd) in plants. He is using state-of-the-art techniques including cell-specific transcriptomics, functional genomics, and ionomics to understand how plants take up, distribute and accumulate micronutrients and toxic elements within plant tissues, including seeds. During his stay at the University of Missouri, Dr. Khan discovered that leaves seem to sense the Fe status of the whole plant before roots that in contrast to the traditional view of nutrient sensing by plant roots. His research suggests that leaves integrate signals from different tissues and relay the information on the Fe status to roots to trigger, or not, an Fe deficiency response (i.e. increased Fe uptake).
He joined the Institute of Botanik, Heinrich Heine University in January 2021, where his research continues to explore the seed loading mechanism of Fe and Zn and develop strategies to optimize crops for higher protein and nutritional value which are essential for future agriculture production to ensure food security and reduce malnutrition and poverty.
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