Plants are the basis for terrestrial ecosystems, have dominating influence on atmospheric chemistry, and support all other organisms by using sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars. Due to their fixed location, plant adaptability to environmental changes is essential for their survival, and plants are unique in their complex responses to external changes.

The focus of Bjørn's research is to understand the molecular mechanisms that govern developmental plasticity in plant growth. Understanding this process is crucial for coping with current and upcoming challenges in agriculture and environmental science, which will be essential for determining resilience of whole ecosystems.

Bjørn Panyella Pedersen - brief biography

Bjørn received his PhD from Aarhus University in 2008, where he unraveled the structure of the Proton Motive Force generating proton-ATPase from the model plant Arabidopsis. Subsequently, during a postdoctoral stay at the University of California - San Francisco, he investigated phosphate transporters from fungi that form symbiosis with plants, as well as the membrane transport of calcium that lies behind plant stress signaling, both processes that utilize the Proton Motive Force for transmembrane transport.

Supported by a fellowship from AIAS (Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies), Bjørn returned to Denmark in 2014 to establish his research group at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. His group focuses on proton-driven transmembrane transport processes in plants, particularly sugar, sterol, and plant-hormone transport. Their work sheds light on how these processes utilize proton gradients derived from the Proton Motive Force, enhancing our understanding of plant responses to the environment. Within this framework, the group elucidates how substrate specificity and affinity is achieved and how transport can be regulated and modified, essential cornerstones for rational design and augmentation of plant pathways.

Bjørn Panyella Pedersen's expertise in plant and fungal membrane protein biology has earned him international recognition, including prestigious awards such as ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants, DFF Sapere Aude, EMBO Young Investigator, Dupont Young Professor and a Hans Fischer Senior Fellowship . With a diverse and international research team currently representing 8 nationalities, Pedersen fosters collaboration and excellence in research.

Through his involvement with The Young Academy under the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Bjørn is an active advocate for academia, and he has contributed significantly to the national research discourse over the years in the press.

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More information

Professor Bjørn Panyella Pedersen - bpp@mbg.au.dk
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics
Aarhus University, Denmark