Michael Ignatz

Background

About Michael Ignatz

I am a scientist with a well-rounded theoretical and practical background in Plant Molecular Biology and in particular Seed Biology. I have been working as a senior scientist for priming, seed upgrading technology and quality analysis, and linemanaging a small team in Germains‘ R&D. Working in the industry gives me the fantastic opportunity to reach beyond academic research, developing practical applications and products to improve seed quality and germination performance. Additionally, I really enjoy the interaction with operations and sales teams, and of course our customers. Before working at Germains, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Gerhard Leubner at RHUL. Here I was focussing on molecular aspects of seed biology (see my publicatios for details). My main responsibilities were the coordination and realization of projects on abiotic stress tolerance and seed quality in sugar beet during germination, which were executed in collaboration with KWS as industrial partners. My interests lie in theoretical and applied research of various areas of seed, seedling and plant molecular science. I have focused on increasing seed quality by priming and seed upgrading, but I am also interested in other seed processing techniques (e.g. polishing and pelleting), testing of germination performance (tests on paper, soil trays, plant grower and field trials), seed response to various stresses (biotic and abiotic) and chemical compounds, as well as seed shelf life (including storability and aging).