Catharina Coenen

Department: Biology
Email: ccoenen@allegheny.edu
Office Phone: (814) 332-2703
Office Building: Steffee Hall
Office Room: B219
Box #: 10
Faculty Website

Professional Title/s

Professor

Faculty Credentials

Undergraduate work, Universität Bremen (Germany), Ph.D., Oregon State University

Biographical Information

Research Interests

  • Plant and Microbial Biology
  • Teaching: Organismal Physiology and Ecology, Plant Physiology

My research focuses on the action of the hormone auxin in plant growth and development and in the interaction between plant roots and soil microbes. My students and I have been characterizing the role of auxin in mycorrhiza, an agriculturally and ecologically important symbiotic association between plant roots and fungi. We have also begun to explore auxin as a communication signal between plant-protective bacteria and the roots these bacteria colonize. These projects have implications for organic agriculture, because the fungi and bacteria we study reduce the need for toxic fungicides and fertilizers. The methods my students use to study auxin responses include genetics, molecular, biochemical and physiological experiments. As long as you enjoy working with plants, fungi, or bacteria, there are lots of different experimental approaches to choose from. Even if you may not be interested in staying in plant research in the long term, you will find valuable techniques and analysis methods to learn here that transfer to other systems.

More Information

Office Hours

  • Monday: 1:30 - 3:30pm
  • Tuesday: None
  • Wednesday: 1:30 - 3:30pm
  • Thursday: None
  • Friday: 12:00-2:00pm
  • Other times by appt.