Prof. Dr. Nadia Kamal
Academic Career and Research Areas
Prof. Kamal focuses on plant genomics, particularly in comparative genomics and transcriptomics of crops. She seeks to enhance our knowledge of plant genetic diversity using computational tools and high-throughput methods. Her work aims to pinpoint genetic factors behind key traits like drought resistance and resource efficiency, shedding light on the evolution of these traits, and supporting future agricultural advancements for enhanced crop climate resilience.
Prof. Kamal completed her Biology degree at the Free University of Berlin and went on to earn a Master™s in Molecular Cell Biology at Bielefeld University, where she also pursued her PhD under Prof. Bernd Weisshaar. Beginning in 2018, she joined the Helmholtz Zentrum München as a postdoctoral researcher, working with Prof. Klaus Mayer. In 2023, Prof. Kamal received an ERC Starting Grant and was appointed as an Assistant Professor for Computational Plant Biology at the Technical University of Munich in 2024.
Key Publications (all publications)
Njaci, I.*, Waweru, B.*, Kamal, N.*, Muktar, M.S.*, Fisher, D., Gundlach, H., Muli, C., Muthui, L., Maranga, M., Kiambi, D., et al. (2023). Chromosome-level genome assembly and population genomic resource to accelerate orphan crop lablab breeding. Nat. Commun. 14, 1915 (*: equal contribution).
AbstractKamal, N.*, Renhuldt, N.T.*, Bentzer, J., Gundlach, H., Haberer, G., Juhász, A., Lux, T., Bose, U., Tye-Din, J.A., Lang, D., et al. (2022). The mosaic oat genome gives insights into a uniquely healthy cereal crop. Nature 606, 113Œ119 (: equal contribution).
AbstractHaberer, G., Kamal, N., Bauer, E., Gundlach, H., Fischer, I., Seidel, M.A., Spannagl, M., Marcon, C., Ruban, A., Urbany, C., et al. (2020). European maize genomes highlight intraspecies variation in repeat and gene content. Nat. Genet. 52, 950Œ957.
AbstractJayakodi, M., Padmarasu, S., Haberer, G., Bonthala, V.S., Gundlach, H., Monat, C., Lux, T., Kamal, N., Lang, D., Himmelbach, A., et al. (2020). The barley pan-genome reveals the hidden legacy of mutation breeding. Nature 588, 284Œ289.
AbstractKamal, N., Mun, T., Reid, D., Lin, J.-S., Akyol, T.Y., Sandal, N., Asp, T., Hirakawa, H., Stougaard, J., Mayer, K.F.X., et al. (2020). Insights into the evolution of symbiosis gene copy number and distribution from a chromosome-scale Lotus japonicus Gifu genome sequence. DNA Res. 27.
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