This talk is an activity from the FEBS Junior Section, an initiative set up by students and young researchers from some of the FEBS Constituent Societies. Each month members of the FEBS Junior Section organize an online event on either a research or a career topic. This talk was coordinated by the junior section of the Slovenian Biochemical Society (SBD).
- Speaker: Dr Katarina Petra van Midden, postdoctoral researcher from the University of Oxford, UK
- Topic: "Life, death and defense: exploring how plants fight back – My journey from Slovenia to Oxford"
- Date and time: 19 November 2025, 19:00 CET
- Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_a-lIqYDoRLmxuFfqxkKNHQ
Participants will have the opportunity to stay for an after-talk hangout to have an informal chat with the speaker, members of the FEBS Junior Section, and other participants.
Abstract
How do plants protect themselves from the world around them? Unlike animals, they can’t run away from danger – yet plants have evolved a remarkable arsenal of defense mechanisms to survive attacks from pathogens and environmental stress. In this talk, Dr Katarina P. van Midden takes the audience on a journey through the fascinating world of plant immunity, from the molecular mechanisms of cell death in a simple alga to the complex defense strategies of the tomato plant. Along the way, she shares her personal and professional path – from growing up and studying Biochemistry in Slovenia to pursuing postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford – reflecting on the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned as a researcher abroad.
Biosketch
Dr Katarina P. van Midden is a biochemist from Slovenia with a passion for understanding the molecular mechanisms that make life "tick". She completed her PhD at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, under the mentorship of Dr Marina Klemenčič, where she studied proteins involved in programmed cell death in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. She then moved to the UK to join the group of Prof. Renier van der Hoorn at the University of Oxford, where she currently investigates the molecular basis of plant immunity – particularly how tomato plants detect and defend against pathogens. Her research bridges biochemistry and evolutionary biology, seeking to understand how life has evolved strategies to survive, adapt, and thrive.
The FEBS Junior Section
Want to join this platform for young European life scientists? Learn more about our initiative, check out the Room for the FEBS Junior Section and – if you do not have a junior section yet – read this post about how to set one up!
Photo by Patel Mohammad Sajjad on Unsplash.