Hermann
Prodjinoto

Dr. Hermann Prodjinoto is an Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellow in The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the supervision of Prof. Menachem Moshelion.

He is studying the physiological and functional phenotyping of aquaporins in the regulatory mechanism of the drought tolerance of tomatoes.

Aquaporins are the main channels for the transport of water and are involved in drought recovery; however, their involvement in the drought response of tomatoes remains unclear. Hermann therefore plans to unravel aquaporins’ functions by using the simple and efficient genome editing system, CRISPR-Cas9, as a way of improving our understanding of how to improve drought resistance in tomatoes.

Hermann was born and raised in Benin. He completed a BSc in natural sciences at the University of Abomey-Calavi and an MSc in vegetable and microbial biotechnologies at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar. After working as a research assistant, he moved to Belgium where he completed his PhD in agronomic sciences and bioengineering at the Catholic University of Louvain’s Earth and Life Institute under the supervision of Prof. Stanley Lutts and Prof. Christophe Gandonou. In his research, Hermann highlighted the response strategies of African rice (Oryza glaberrima) to salinity while distinguishing the effects of both the osmotic component and the ionic component of salt stress on cultivars with different mean levels of salt resistance. In addition to research, Hermann enjoys various sporting activities including running and karate.