Biography
Andre completed a BSc degree in Molecular Biotechnology before he focused towards Computational and Systems Biology during his MSc. After graduating from Heidelberg University in 2017, he started his PhD at Cambridge where his research is investigating open questions in the evolution of B vitamin dependencies, microbial interactions as well as the role of transposable elements in algae by applying multi-omic approaches. In parallel, he is co-leader of the citizen science project PuntSeq (www.puntseq.co.uk) which is employing novel real-time DNA sequencing to monitor microbial composition of freshwater sources. Andre is a Gates Cambridge scholar and has joined the Plant Metabolism Group in 2017.
Research
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 - Research intern, Optical Nanoscopy Group
DKFZ & BioQuant Center, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
2015:
- Reserach intern, Plant Metabolism Group
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
2014:
- Reserach intern, Plant Metabolism Group
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge - Graduate research assistant, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Group
IWR, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg - Reserach intern, Bacterial Signaling Network Group
BioQuant/ZMBH, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg - Research intern, Computational Oncology Group
DKFZ, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg - 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 - Student assistant, Biocompatibility Laboratory
Applications Engineering, Fresenius Medical Care St. Wendel - Research assistant, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Group
IWR, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
Teaching
April - October 2015: Tutor in Physical Chemistry II
IPMB, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg
2018-2020: Demonstrator for the course "1B Cell and Developmental Biology"
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge
Stipends
2018/19: Frank Smart studentship
2018: e-fellows.net scholarship
2016/17: Gates Cambridge scholarship
2016: BBSRC DTP scholarship (declined)
2016: Cambridge Trust scholarship (declined)
2016: EMBL/EMBO conference fellowship
Publications
Urban L*, Holzer A*, Baronas JJ, Hall M, Braeuninger-Weimer P, Scherm MJ, Kunz DJ, Perera SN, Martin-Herranz DE, Tipper ET, Salter SJ, Stammnitz MR (2021) Freshwater monitoring by nanopore sequencing. eLife 10: e61504. doi: 10.7554/eLife.61504
Bunbury F, Helliwell KH, Mehrshahi P, Davey MP, Salmon D, Holzer A, Smirnoff N, Smith AG (2020) Responses of a Newly Evolved Auxotroph of Chlamydomonas to B12 Deprivation. Plant 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
* shared first author
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 approach. BioRxiv preprint . doi: 10.1101/2021.08.04.455025
Urban L*, Holzer A*, Baronas JJ, Hall M, Braeuninger-Weimer P, Scherm MJ, Kunz DJ, Perera SN, Martin-Herranz DE, Tipper ET, Salter SJ, Stammnitz MR (2020) Freshwater monitoring by nanopore sequencing. BioRxiv preprint 1-38. doi: 10.1101/2020.02.06.936302
Bunbury F, Helliwell KH, Mehrshahi P, Davey MP, Salmon D, Holzer A, Smirnoff N, Smith AG (2019) Physiological and molecular responses of a newly evolved auxotroph of Chlamydomonas to B12 deprivation. BioRxiv 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 Analysis. Zenodo. 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.
