I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Functional Plant Biology group led by Thorsten Hamann. I have a broad interest in cell–cell communication and signaling in plant growth and development. My specific expertise lies in plant cell wall and mechanosensing. 

 

Education               

2012 – 2016: PhD in Plant Molecular Biology

                      School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne

Research title: The Roles of DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 (DEK1) in Control of Mechano-sensitive Growth in Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary: How plants regulate cell wall deposition in response to external signals and modify growth is a key question in plant biology.  This project investigated the role of the phytocalpain, DEFECTIVE KERNEL 1 (DEK1), as a putative mechanosensor to perceive and transduce mechanical signals, regulate expression of cell wall related genes, and promote growth. The results indicate that DEK1 acts as a novel regulator of cell expansion via regulation of cellulose and pectin in the cell wall.

 

2010 – 2011: MSc - Master of Science

                      School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

2006 – 2010: BSc - Bachelor of Science

                      School of Life sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

 

Work experience

Dates           02 April 2017 - August 2021

Position       Postdoctoral researcher working on the crops genetic

Employer     Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany

 

Dates            March – July 2016

Position        Demonstrator and teaching assistant for ‘Microscopy for Biological Sciences’ Courses

Employer      School of Biosciences - University of Melbourne

 

Dates             March – July 2016

Position         Research assistant for Microscopy support 

Employer       ARC Center of Excellence in Plants Cell Walls - University of Melbourne

 

Dates             June 2009 – September 2009

Position        Visiting researcher working on the identification of mammalian species 

                       using mitochondrial cytochrome b and 12S rRNA gene as a universal DNA barcode

Employer      Eijkman Institute of Molecular Biology, Jakarta, Indonesia

 

Workshops and trainings

2015      Multi-photon Microscopy Workshop - The Peter Doherty Institute, 26 March 2015

2014      The Super-Resolution Microscopy Workshop – The Bio21 Institute, 14 March 2014

2014      Glycomics Workshop – CoE in Plant Cell Walls Melbourne Node, 30 October 2014

2014      A Masterclass in Real-Time PCR, Royal Melbourne Hospital Function and Convention Centre,    

              Grattan St, Parkville, 6 June 2014

 

Teaching Experience

2021: Group facilitator for BI2080 Global change biology, NTNU

2020: Guess lecturer for mechanosensing in the University of Cologne

2016: Teaching support for Microscopy for Biological Sciences Course, School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne 

MSc courses:

2011: Academic assistant for bioinformatics course, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia

BSc courses:

2010: Laboratory assistant for Genetics course, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia

2010: Academic assistant for cell and molecular biology course, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB)

2007: Laboratory assistant for General Biology course, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia

 

Publications

Amanda D, Frey FP, Neumann U, Przybyl M, Simura J, Zhang Y, Chen Z, Gallavotti A, Fernie AR, Ljung K, Acosta IF (2022) Auxin boosts energy generation pathways to fuel pollen maturation in barley. Current Biology 32 (8): 1798-1811

Amanda D, Doblin MS, Galletti R, Bacic A, Ingram GC, Johnson KL (2016) DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 (DEK1) Regulates Cell Walls in the Leaf Epidermis. Plant Physiology 172: 2204-2218

Amanda D, Doblin MS, Galletti R, Bacic A, Ingram GC, Johnson KL (2017) Regulation of cell wall genes in response to DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 (DEK1)-induced cell wall changes. Plant Signaling & Behavior: e1345405

Amanda D, Doblin MS,Macmillan CP, Galletti R, Golz JF, Bacic A, Ingram GC, Johnson KL (2017) Arabidopsis DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 regulates cell wall composition and axial growth in the inflorescence stem. Plant Direct: 1-14