NEWS Maria Eriksson has been awarded a SSF Sabbatical grant from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research. The grant will enable her to spend a sabbatical at the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, where she will study how the plant's internal biological clock helps coordinate cell division and growth. We asked her five questions about the project and her upcoming stay starting in autumn this year.
Maria Eriksson will spend her upcoming sabbatical at the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
Image Elsa Hertzberg"Thank you, it feels amazing, and I am very grateful to SSF for choosing to fund my sabbatical project!"
"Together with Ho-Wei Wu and the group of James Locke, I will explore how the daily 24-hour clock helps coordinate when cells divide and grow in plants. Understanding how these timing systems work together is key to better understand how plants control their growth. It is a very new and exciting field that I am much looking forward to exploring."
I am excited by the opportunity to work within an interdisciplinary team of colleagues who share an interest in these fascinating questions.
"The Sainsbury Laboratory and the Locke Group provide an outstanding environment for my research, offering access to state-of-the-art imaging technologies that make it possible to study the plant’s of internal clock, cell-cycle dynamics, and growth at the same time."
"I am excited by the opportunity to work within an interdisciplinary team of colleagues who share an interest in these fascinating questions. More broadly, the scientific environment in Cambridge and the surrounding region is exceptional, having become a global hub for plant science research."
"Indeed, I am particularly interested in learning from my colleagues how to combine advanced imaging, quantitative analysis, and mathematical modelling to understand how the plant’s internal clock controls plant growth and cell division under different environmental conditions. Although I will mainly work with the small model plant Arabidopsis, the knowledge gained could ultimately help us to better understand how trees grow."
The UK circadian clock research community, as well as the plant science community more broadly, is remarkably strong, and it will be fantastic to engage with and learn from these networks.
"I look forward to immersing myself in academic life in Cambridge, meeting like-minded people, and building networks across disciplines. The UK circadian clock research community, as well as the plant science community more broadly, is remarkably strong, and it will be fantastic to engage with and learn from these networks."
"The laboratory is housed in a beautiful building within the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, creating an inspiring place to work and reflect. I am also excited to explore the region’s rich culture and natural environment, and to experience new perspectives both within and beyond academia."
