Research group Lozano-Durán
 

Rosa Lozano-Durán (group leader)
Rosa studied Biology at the University of Málaga (Spain), where she also did her PhD. After a postdoctoral stay at the Sainsbury Laboratory (Norwich, UK), she started her independent research group at the Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology (China) in 2015. In 2021, she moved to the Center for Molecular Plant Biology (ZMBP) at the University of Tübingen. In addition to science, she likes sharing time with friends, traveling, diving, reading, and doing yoga – among other things.
 rosa.lozano-duranspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Laura Medina-Puche (postdoctoral researcher)
Laura studied Biology at the University of Córdoba (Spain), where she also obtained her MSc and PhD in Biosciences and Agrifood Sciences, on the molecular mechanisms that regulate the ripening of strawberry fruit. After a brief postdoctoral stay at the Institute of Plant Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMCP, Valencia, Spain) studying the perception of the defense-related phytohormone salicylic acid (SA) and plant defense responses, Laura joined our lab at the Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology (Shanghai, China), and moved to Tübingen with us. Laura’s project is focused on the plant perception of geminiviruses and its manipulation by these pathogens. If she is not in the lab, you can find her either at the gym or enjoying a beer in the company of her friends.
laura.medina-puchespam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de
Twitter: @LauraMePuL

Huang Tan (postdoctoral researcher)
Tan studied Agricultural Sciences at China Agricultural University (China). He then joined our lab in Shanghai for his PhD, after which he moved to Tübingen with the team as a postdoctoral researcher. Tan´s project, in collaboration with the Timmermans lab at the ZMBP, aims to apply single-cell (sc) RNA-seq in tomato to investigate the geminiviral subversion of the cell. He loves taking pictures using his smartphone or camera, running, playing volleyball and badminton, and hiking.
huang.tanspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de
Twitter: @HuangTan93.

Chaonan Shi (PhD student)
Chaonan studied Agricultural Sciences at Henan University of Science and Technology (China), and did a MSc in Agriculture at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (China). She then joined our lab in Shanghai as a technician, and since 2021 she is doing her PhD at the University of Tübingen. Her project aims to identify the composition of the geminiviral replisome, and the molecular mechanisms underlying geminiviral DNA replication. When she is not at the bench, she enjoys travelling, staying home, sleeping in, facing new challenges, and learning.
chaonan.shispam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Bettina Stadelhofer (technician)
Bettina trained as a CTA (chemical technical assistant) at the NTA (Naturwissenschaftlich-Technische Akademie Isny), and joined our lab in 2021. Her hobbies include hiking, skiing, reading, and cooking.
bettina.stadelhoferspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Delphine Pott (postdoctoral researcher)
Delphine studied biology at the University of Malaga (Spain), where she also obtained her PhD in plant biochemistry. She combined metabolomics with genomic and transcriptomic approaches to identify genes responsible for strawberry fruit organoleptic and nutritive characteristics. She has joined our lab to study the geminiviral manipulation of the host splicing machinery, and its relevance for the infection and/or plant defense. Apart from her job, she loves nature, hiking with her dog, and travelling. 
delphine.pottspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Zhihao Jiang (postdoctoral researcher)
Zhihao studied plant protection at Shandong Agricultural University (China), and did his Master’s and PhD at China Agricultural University (China) on the molecular mechanisms of barley stripe mosaic virus–plant interactions. In 2022, Zhihao joined our lab as a postdoctoral researcher. Zhihao’s projectsare focused on the plasma membrane-to-chloroplast signalling   transduction in plant defense and the virulence function of the C3 protein from tomato yellow leaf curl virus, for which he has been awarded a Walter Benjamin postdoctoral fellowship. He loves travelling, cooking, and enjoying a good time with his family.
zhihao.jiangspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de
Twitter:@ZhihaoJiang93

Hua Wei (PhD student)
Hua studied Biological Sciences in Shandong Agricultural University (China). She then joined our lab in Shanghai for her Master’s, during which she was trying to unravel the molecular mechanisms of replication and mutation of tomato yellow leaf curl virus. She moved to Tübingen with the team as a PhD student in 2022. Hua Wei’s project aims to explore the functional diversification of the C4 proteins from monopartite geminiviruses. She loves taking pictures of beautiful sceneries, singing, and swimming.
hua.weispam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Shaojun Pan (PhD student)
Pan studied Biotechnology at Southwest University of Science and Technology (China). She then joined our lab at the Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology (Shanghai, China) for her Master’s, and since 2022 she is doing her PhD at the University of Tübingen. Her project is aims to explore the functional diversification of the C4 proteins from bipartite geminiviruses. She enjoys watching movies, live music, hiking, painting, travelling, and taking pictures when she is not in the lab.
shaojun.panspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Man Gao (postdoctoral researcher)
Man Gao studied Cell Biology at Lan Zhou University (China). She then joined our lab in Shanghai for her PhD, after which she moved to Tübingen as a postdoctoral researcher. Gao’s project aims to investigate the specific manipulation of the plant RNA splicing machinery by geminiviruses. She likes cooking, travelling, running and hiking, and she is now learning to swim!
man.gaospam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Ying Li (technician)
Ying studied Crop Genetics and Breeding at Huazhong Agricultural University (China) and obtained her PhD degree in Agronomy. She joined our lab in 2022, as part of the ERC project “GemOmics” team. In her spare time, Ying goes to the zoo or to the park with her family, or just enjoys Chinese dessert with her friends.
ying.lispam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Shuyi Luo (PhD student)

Shuyi majored in Biotechnology and received a Bachelor of Science from Sun Yat-sen University (China). Then she joined our lab in Shanghai for her Master’s, focusing on characterizing the cell-to-cell movement of RNA interference. She started her PhD in 2023 in Tübingen as a member of the ERC project "GemOmics", aiming to explore the dark TYLCV proteome. Besides geminiviruses, astronomy/classical concerts/baking/detective fiction can also get her talking.

shuyi.luospam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de 

Clémence Marchal (Postdoctoral researcher)

Clémence obtained her BSc in Biology and MSc in Biology and Ecology for the Forest Agronomy and Environment at the University of Lorraine (Nancy, France). After that, she obtained her PhD at the John Innes Centre (Norwich, UK) on wheat disease resistance and genomics. She joined our lab after two postdoctoral stays: one at the John Innes Centre studying early signalling during symbiosis, and one at the Sainsbury Laboratory (Norwich, UK) focussing on plant immune receptor biology and bioengineering. Here, her project focusses on characterising newly identified open reading frames in the genome of potato virus X and understand their role during infection. When not in the lab, she is likely to be out and about with her dog Loki.

Clemence.marchalspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Aparna Chodon (PhD student)

Aparna is a DAAD binationally supervised PhD candidate from India. She completed her Master’s in Plant Science from the Central University of Kerala, India. In 2021, she started her PhD in the Department of Plant Biotechnology at Madurai Kamaraj University, India, studying okra-infecting begomoviruses. In October 2024, she joined GeminiTeam, continuing her PhD with a focus on the molecular characterization of the C4 protein from the selected begomoviruses. When not in the lab, she enjoys spending time with friends or relaxing at home watching movies.

aparna.chodonspam prevention@guest.uni-tuebingen.de

Kyoka Kuroiwa (Postdoctoral researcher)

Kyoka obtained her BSc in Agricultural sciences at Hokkaido University (Sapporo, Japan). This is where she became fascinated by the world of plant virology. After that, Kyoka did her internship for MSc in Science and Technology and continued for PhD thesis at INRAE Avignon/Aix-Marseille University (France), where she worked on developing virus resistance in tomato via genome-editing. After obtaining her PhD in September 2024, she joined the Lozano-Durán lab as her first postdoctoral research lab. Here, she will be working on elucidating the molecular mechanism of natural resistance against geminiviruses found in some cassava cultivars mediated by a DNA polymerase subunit. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, Netflixing, traveling, and visiting museums. 

Kyoka.kuroiwaspam prevention@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de 

Zhenggang Li (Visiting scholar)

Zhenggang comes from the Plant Protection Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He earned his PhD at China Agricultural University (CAU) in China in 2018. Now, he's a Visiting Scholar in our lab, sponsored by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). In his free time, he enjoys visiting new places, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures.

zhenggang.lispam prevention@guest.uni-tuebingen.de

Axel Giudicatti (Postdoctoral researcher)

Axel studied Biotechnology at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina), where he also earned a PhD in Biological Sciences, focusing on the epigenetic regulation of miRNA biogenesis. In 2025, he moved to Tübingen to join the team as a postdoctoral researcher. As part of the ERC-funded GemOmics project, Axel aims to unravel how geminiviruses manipulate their hosts by integrating genomic, proteomic, and interactomics approaches. Outside the lab, Axel loves trekking and has a deep appreciation for glaciers. He’s always seeking new and challenging routes and doesn’t mind hiking for seven hours just to enjoy fifteen minutes at the summit. When he’s not in the lab or on a trail, he’s probably sharing a beer with friends.

axel.giudicattispam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de

Gemino, Pando, and Flamenco
Gemino, Pando, and Flamenco have most likely never studied. Nevertheless, they are the deities to whom we entrust the smooth running of the lab and the success of our experiments – in exchange for our offerings of cookies and chocolate.