Professor Monika Chodasiewicz completed her Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute of Plant Physiology in Potsdam, Germany in 2014. Her Ph.D. research contributed significantly to the discovery of the oxygen-sensing mechanism in plants, which was recognized by Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe in his 2019 Nobel lecture. She continued at Max Planck as a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Prof. Lothar Willmitzer and Dr. Aleksandra Skirycz, where she studied small molecule-protein interactions using novel methods in biochemistry. Professor Chodasiewicz developed her research topic during that time and then formed her research group at KAUST in 2020, where her group studies stress-specific complexes of small molecules, proteins, and mRNA in plants and beyond. Her and her team use biochemistry, molecular biology, and cell biology to study condensates formed in plant cells under different stress conditions. 

Professor Chodasiewicz has devoted her career to researching biomolecular condensates in plants with particular interest on the stress granules that are formed in the cell in response to stress. Her group seeks to understand the molecular mechanism of condensate formation and their contribution to stress signaling and tolerance. The major focus of the group are stress granule-associated proteins harboring different biological functions such RNA-binding, regulation of metabolism, or hormonal homeostasis. Her lab also aims to increase the portfolio of methods that allow fragile interactions within the condensate to be explored. Overall, fundamental knowledge provides a comprehensive understanding of stress response in cells and will contribute to improved field crop management.