PhD candidate
Robert started his academic career due to a fascination for the intricate chemical processes used by organisms to develop or shape their environment. After obtaining a BSc in 'Molecular Life Sciences', he decided to specialize in bioinformatics and plant research during his MSc 'Plant Biotechnology' at Wageningen University. Applying the expertise gained from his studies, Robert focused on identifying key genes and transcription factors associated with seed desiccation tolerance and longevity during his MSc thesis. This research provided some interesting molecular insights that will be published later in 2023. Continuing his bioinformatics work, Robert developed a web tool allowing non-experts to analyze seed maturation data and a Bioconductor package for automated network visualizations.
Since April 2023, Robert has been a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Marnix Medema and Dr. Justin van der Hooft in the bioinformatics group at Wageningen University. His research involves predicting the specialized metabolic potential of urobiomes and integrating metabolomic and transcriptomic data to deepen the understanding of urobiome interactions and pathogenicity.
Embedded in the Bioinformatics Group of the Plant Sciences Group at WUR 