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Home: Our Faculty: Brooklyn College Faculty:

Juergen Polle

Assc Professor   Department: Biology   Location: 425 Ingersoll Hall Extension   Phone: 718-951-5000 x2025   Fax: 718-951-4659   Email:

Dr. Polle is Associate Professor in the Department of Biology. He graduated in 1997 from the Georg-August University in Goettingen, Germany. From 1997 to 2002 he was postdoc in the laboratory of Dr. A. Melis at the University of California, Berkeley. Education: DOCTOR RER. NAT., Georg-August University in Goettingen, Germany - 1997 (Biology) Areas of Expertise: Dr. Polle is a leading expert in microalgae biotechnology. For the past 15 years he worked with various microalgae including unicellular green algae, diatoms, and cyanobacteria. Dr. Polle is internationally recognized for his work on algae of the genus Dunaliella. His research focuses on photosynthesis, secondary carotenoid biosynthesis, and biofuels production from microalgae. Dr. Polle's research was funded in the past for example by US DOE, NIH, and AFOSR. Doctoral Rotation Projects: Biofuels from microalgae. Research includes cell culture for isolation of new algae strains, basic molecular biology, and biochemistry. In addition, algae genomics consists of annotation of metabolic pathways relevant for biofuels. Books and Publications Co-Editor for the new book on the alga Dunaliella to be released in Summer 2009 by Science Publisher. Editors: Ben-Amotz A., Polle J.E.W., and S. Rao. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2009 Tran D, Haven J, Qiu W-G, and JEW Polle, An update on carotenoid biosynthesis in algae: Phylogenetic evidence for the existence of two classes of phytoene synthase. Planta 229: 723-729. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2009 Polle JEW, Struwe L, and ES Jin, Identification and Characterization of a New Strain of the Unicellular Green Alga Dunaliella salina (Teod.) from Korea. J Microbiol Biotechnol 18(5): 821-827. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008 Gonzalez M.A., Gomez P.I., and J.E.W. Polle. Taxonomy and Phylogeny of the Genus Dunaliella. Book: The alga Dunaliella. Editors: Ben-Amotz, Polle, and Rao. Status: accepted. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2007 Gordon J.M. and J.E. W. Polle. Ultrahigh bioproductivity from algae. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 76: 969-975. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007 Jin ES. and Polle J.E.W. Carotenoids in the alga Dunaliella. Book: The alga Dunaliella. Editors: Ben-Amotz, Polle, and Rao. Status: accepted. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2007 Polle J.E. W., Struwe L., and ES. Jin. Identification and characterization of a new strain of the unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina (Chlorophyta). Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology. in press. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007 Polle J.E.W. and S. Qin. Development of Genetics and Molecular Tool Kits for Species of the Unicellular Green Alga Dunaliella (Chlorophyta). Book: The alga Dunaliella. Editors: Ben-Amotz, Polle, and Rao. Status: accepted. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2007 Polle J.E.W., Tran D., and A. Ben-Amotz. History, Distribution, and Habitats of Algae of the Genus Dunaliella TEODORESCO (Chlorophyceae). Book: The alga Dunaliella. Editors: Ben-Amotz, Polle, and Rao. Status: accepted. (Books and Publications: Forthcoming Publications) 2007 Polle, Juergen. Instructor's Manual with Test Items for the Textbook "Plant Biology". Chicago, IL: Thomson Gale, 2006. (Books and Publications: Book) 2006 Park, S., Polle, J.E., Melis, A., Lee, T.K. and Jin, E. (2005). Up-regulation of photoprotection and PSH-repair gene expression by irradiance in the unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina. Marine Biotechnol.(NY), 8(2):120-128. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2005 Yokthongwattana, K., Savchenko, T., Polle, J.E. and Melis, A. (2005). Isolation and characterization of a xanthophyll-rich fraction from the thylakoid membrane of Dunalella salina (green algae). Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 4(12):1028-1034. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2005 Awards, Honors and Fellowships AFOSR - Creating a collection of microalgae for biofuels research. (Grants and Fellowships) 2007 Research Activities Attended the 7th European Workshop on Microalgal Biotechnology, Potsdam, Germany 2007 Attended the Algae Biomass Summit, San Francisco, CA, USA 2007 Attended the Eastern Regional Photosynthesis Conference, Woods Hole, MA, USA 2007 Attended the Western Regional Photosynthesis Conference, Pacific Grove, CA, USA 2007 Set up the Dunaliella Culture collection at Brooklyn College of CUNY. 2003 Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums Algal Biotechnology & Bioenergy Seminar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, CA, USA Title: From Bio-Prospecting for new Microalgae Strains to Strain Engineering. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009 Institute of Bioengineering, Santa Clara, CA, USA Title: Algae to Biofuels: From strain isolation to strain engineering. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009 User Meeting of the US DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA Poster title: A Model Halophyte - The Green Alga Dunaliella salina. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2009 AFOSR review meeting, August 2008, Arlington, USA Title: Creating a Culture Collection of Microalgae for Biofuels Research. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008 AFOSR-NREL Workshop, Arlington, Virginia, USA Title: Bioprospecting for microalgae. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008 Binghampton University of SUNY, NY, USA Title: A Century with the Halophilic Alga Dunaliella: An Update. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008 Conference of the International society for Salt Lake Research. Organized a session and presentend a talk with the title: Carotenoid Biosynthesis in the Halophilic Alga Dunaliella salina TEOD. (Chlorophyta). (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008 National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL), Golden, Co, USA Title: Algae to Biofuels: From strain isolation to strain engineering. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008 Summer Seminar Series on Governor's Island for CUNY Sustainable Cities, New York, NY, USA Title: Algae to Fuels. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008 Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA. Title: Bioprospecting of microalgae and the alga Dunaliella. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008 AFOSR-NREL Workshop on algae biofuels, Golden, CO, USA Title: Creating a collection of microalgae for biofuels research. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007 Ben-Gurion University, Sede Boker, Israel. Title: Enhancing productivity of microalgae. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007 International Marine Biotechnology Conference, Eilat, Israel. Poster presentation: Development of molecular and genetic tools for the unicellular alga Dunaliella salina (Chlorophyta). (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007 International Marine Biotechnology Conference, Eilat, Israel. Title: Enhancing productivity of marine microalgae for greenhouse gas abatement. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007 Project Kaleidoskope Faculty of the 21st Century Meeting. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007 University of Nevada at Reno, NV, USA. Title: Enhancing productivity of microalgae. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007 Professional Leadership Co-chair for a session at the conference of the International Society of Salt Lake Research to be held in Salt Lake City in May 2008. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2008 Co-Chaired a session at the International Conference on Salt Lake Research in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2008 Member of the consortium responsible for the genome sequencing project of the unicellular green alga Dunaliella salina. Sequencing of the genome is in process by the Joint Genome Institute. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007 Other Professional Activities Brooklyn College Sustainability Round Table, Presentation Title: Biofuels from Algae. 2008 Invited participant in US Department of Energy roadmap workshop, December 2008, Maryland, USA 2008