In 2003, he became a full professor (C4) and chair at Heidelberg University as head of the Department of the Molecular Biology of Plants. Hell acted as Dean of the Faculty of Biosciences at Heidelberg University from 2005 to 2007 and again since 2022.[1] Since 2019, he has been serving as an elected member of the Heidelberg University's academic senate.[1]
In his research, Hell integrates biochemistry, cell biology and molecular genetics to answer physiological and organismal questions towards understanding of the adjustment growth of plants in different environments.[6][7][8]
Hell's research focuses on the role of metabolism for driving growth in relation to developmental programs and changing environments. He developed the regulation of the metabolism of sulfur into a versatile tool to study plant nutrient sensing, growth control in general and abiotic stress responses. He discovered that the synthesis of the amino acid cysteine forms a metabolic hub for integration of resource availability in the soil (i.e. sulfate) and changing demand for energy and protein translation in response to photosynthesis and stresses, in particular water deficit and heavy metal resistance.[2][9][10] He promoted research on the role of protein degradation that is determined by N-terminal protein modifications in the context of proteome stability during environmental stress.[11]
Selected publications
Hell, R., Mendel, RR., eds. (2010). "Cell biology of metals and nutrients". Plant cell monographs. Heidelberg; New York: Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-10612-5.
Takahashi, H., Kopriva, S., Giordano, M., Saito, S., Hell, R. (2011). "Sulfur Assimilation in Photosynthetic Organisms: Molecular Functions and Regulations of Transporters and Assimilatory Enzymes". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 62: 157–184.
Linster, E., Stephan, I., Bienvenut, W.V., Maple-Grødem, J., Myklebust, L.M., Huber, M., Reichelt, M., Sticht, C., Møller, S.G., Meinnel, T., Arnesen, T., Giglione, C., Hell, R., Wirtz, M. (2015). "Proteome imprinting by N-terminal acetylation is a vital hormone-regulated switch during drought stress". Nature Communications. 6.
Forieri, I., Sticht, C., Reichelt, M., Gretz, N., Hawkesford, M.J., Malagoli, M., Wirtz, M., Hell, R. (2017). "Systems analysis of metabolism and the transcriptome in Arabidopsis thaliana roots reveals differential co-regulation upon iron, sulfur and potassium deficiency". Plant, Cell & Environment. 40: 95–107.
Sun, SK., Xu, X., Tang, Z., Hell, R. et al (2021). "A molecular switch in sulfur metabolism to reduce arsenic and enrich selenium in rice grain". Nature Communications. 12.
