Abstract:
The research in my lab focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of plant development, particularly root development in Arabidopsis thaliana. The main emphasis is on lateral root formation, a prime example of post-embryonic organogenesis that enhances plants' ability to forage for nutrients and stabilize their anchoring.
Our work integrates studies of hormone signaling (especially auxin), mechanical forces, cellular dynamics, and gene regulation. Our current and future research focuses on three main questions:
1. How do abutting lateral root founder cells coordinately polarize and swell?
2. How the direction of organ axes is set during post-embryonic growth?
3. How do cell growth and division contribute to the emergence of cell identities?
In my talk I will present recent results related to these points.

Bio:
Dr. Maizel obtained his PhD in 2002 from the René Descartes University and Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris (France). After a post-doc in San Diego (Salk Institute, USA) and in Tübingen (Max Planck Institute for developmental Biology, Germany), he was appointed in 2006 as CNRS staff scientist at the Plant Science Institute on the CNRS Campus of Gif-sur-Yvette. Since 2010 he is at the Center for Organismal Studies of the Heidelberg University, first as an independent group leader and now as a professor.