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Department of Plant Sciences

 

Research group

 

Biography

Andre completed a BSc degree in Molecular Biotechnology before focusing on computational and systems biology during his MSc. After graduating from Heidelberg University in 2017, he became a Gates Cambridge Scholar and a PhD student at Cambridge University where his research addressed open questions in aquatic microbiology and algae biotechnology using high-throughput multi-omic approaches. He also co-founded and became co-leader of the citizen science project PuntSeq, which aims to democratise novel real-time DNA sequencing technology, and in 2020 presented an open-source, low-cost metagenomics framework to monitor microbial composition of freshwater sources. Andre obtained his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2021. Since then, he has worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Plant Sciences Department, coupling his expertise in microbiology, computational biology, and portable DNA sequencing, to better understand, detect and use microbes.
 

Work experience

2017-2021 PhD thesis, Plant Metabolism Group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
2016 Master thesis, Genome Organization & Function Group, DKFZ & BioQuant Center, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
2016 Research intern, Optical Nanoscopy Group, DKFZ & BioQuant Center, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
2014-2015 Research intern, Plant Metabolism Group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
2014 Graduate research assistant, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Group, IWR, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg 
2014 Research intern, Bacterial Signaling Network Group, BioQuant/ZMBH, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
2014 Research intern, Computational Oncology Group, DKFZ, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
2014 Graduate research assistant, Bacterial Signaling Network Group, BioQuant/ZMBH, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
2013 Research intern, Bacterial Signaling Network Group, BioQuant/ZMBH, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
2013 Student assistant, Biocompatibility Laboratory, Applications Engineering, Fresenius Medical Care St. Wendel
2013 Research assistant, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Group , IWR, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
 

Teaching

2018-2020  Demonstrator on 1B Cell and Developmental Biology Unit, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
2015  Tutor in Physical Chemistry II, IPMB, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
 

Stipends

2016 EMBL/EMBO conference fellowship 

 

Publications

Urban L*, Holzer A*Baronas JJHall MBraeuninger-Weimer PScherm MJKunz DJPerera SNMartin-Herranz DETipper ETSalter SJStammnitz MR (2021) Freshwater monitoring by nanopore sequencing. eLife 10: e61504. doi: 10.7554/eLife.61504

Bunbury FHelliwell KHMehrshahi PDavey MPSalmon DHolzer ASmirnoff NSmith AG (2020) Responses of a Newly Evolved Auxotroph of Chlamydomonas to B12 DeprivationPlant Physiology 183: 167-178. doi: 10.1104/pp.19.01375

Holzer A, Newsad S, Tran NA, Harrison E, Smith AG (2020) Microalgae, bacteria and vitamins: three key players in aquatic microbial communities. Microbiology Today

Helliwell KE, Lawrence AD, Holzer A, Kudahl UJ, Sasso S, Kräutler B, Scanlan DJ, Warren MJ & Smith AG (2016) Cyanobacteria and Eukaryotic Algae Use Different Chemical Variants of Vitamin B12. Current Biology 26: 999-1008. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.041

Geisler K, Scaife MA, Mordaka PM, Holzer A, Mehrshahi P, Mendoza Ochoa G, Smith AG (2021) Exploring the impact of terminators on transgene expression in Chlamydomonas reinhadrtii with a synthetic biology approachBioRxiv preprint . doi: 10.1101/2021.08.04.455025

Urban L*, Holzer A*Baronas JJHall MBraeuninger-Weimer PScherm MJKunz DJPerera SNMartin-Herranz DETipper ETSalter SJStammnitz MR (2020) Freshwater monitoring by nanopore sequencing. BioRxiv preprint 1-38. doi: 10.1101/2020.02.06.936302

Bunbury FHelliwell KHMehrshahi PDavey MPSalmon DHolzer ASmirnoff NSmith AG (2019) Physiological and molecular responses of a newly evolved auxotroph of Chlamydomonas to B12 deprivationBioRxiv preprint 1-20. doi: 10.1101/836635

Holzer A (2019). The Chlamydomonas reference genomes for visualisation in IGV (Version v1.0)Zenodo. doi: 10.5281/ZENODO.3732212

Holzer A, Urban L, Stammnitz M (2019). Health and the River Cam, Public Survey AnalysisZenodo. doi: 10.5281/ZENODO.3823356

Wenzel J, Holzer A, Wormit M & Dreuw A (2015) Analysis and comparison of CVS-ADC approaches up to third order for the calcula on of core-excited states. The Journal of Chemical Physics 142: 214104. doi: 10.1063/1.4921841.

* shared first author
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Andrew Holtzer

Contact Details

Email address: 
Department of Plant Sciences,
University of Cambridge
Downing Street,
Cambridge,
CB2 3EA