Vera Straetmanns is a PhD student at Ruhr-University Bochum in the DFG Emmy Noether Research Group The Return of the Organism in the Biosciences: Theoretical, Historical, and Social Dimensions. She studied biology in Bochum with a focus on molecular plant physiology. Afterwards, she successfully obtained a M.A. degree in History, Philosophy and Culture of Science (HPS+) in Bochum with a master thesis on plant morphologist Agnes Arber (1879-1960).

In her dissertation project, Vera works on the reasoning about agency and individuality in plants between 1900 and today with a special focus on organicist theories in the early 20th century.

Besides this, Vera is interested in the role and impact of women in (early) botany as well as romantic conceptions of nature and science.

Vita

• 2020–: PhD student in Philosophy, Institut für Philosophie I, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
• 2022-2023: research assistant, Institute for Philosophy I, Ruhr-University Bochum
• 2020-2023: M.A. in History, Philosophy and Culture of Science (HPS+), Ruhr-University Bochum
• 2017–2020: M.Sc. in Biology, Ruhr-University Bochum
• 2013–2017: B.A. in Linguistics and Biology, Ruhr-University Bochum

Publications

Journal Articles

• Retrograde signals from mitochondria reprogramme skoto-morphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana via alternative oxidase 1a. In: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 375(1801), 20190567 (Co-authors: Merendino, L., Courtois, F., Grübler, B., Bastien, O., Chevalier, F., Lerbs-Mache, S., Lurin, C., & Pfannschmidt, T.; 2020) [download pdf]

Talks