I am a physicist turned biologist who is fascinated by the dynamics and evolution of complex systems. I initially studied the dynamics of complex systems at the biggest (astronomy) and smallest (quantum physics) scales. However, towards the end of my Master degree I became fascinated by the complex dynamics of microbial communities, and I have worked with these microbial systems ever since. Since 2022 I am a SNSF Ambizione Fellow and lead my own subgroup at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel hosted by the lab of Knut Drescher. When not at the lab I love hiking, reading, and landscape photography, but most of all I just enjoy being out and about in the mountains.

Short CV
Since 2023 — External Scientific Collaborator, University of Lausanne
Since 2022 — Junior Group Leader | SNSF Ambizione Fellow, University of Basel
2020–2021 — Postdoc, University of Basel, with Urs Jenal 
2018–2020 — Postdoc, UBC Vancouver, with Michael Doebeli  
2013–2017 — PhD, ETH Zurich, with Martin Ackermann  
2011–2012 — Research Associate, TU Delft, with Juan Keymer
2005–2011 — MSc Applied Physics, TU Delft, with Juan Keymer

I am trained as a Physicist and what excited me the most about it was the study of many-body systems and emergent phenomena. Next to my passion for Physics, I always harbored a strong fascination for the inner workings of a cell’s life. In the groups of Sara Mitri and Simon van Vliet, I combine my interests in Physics and Biology by studying collective behavior in microbial communities. I use computational models and experiments to study the spatial organization of interacting bacterial strains.

Short CV
Since 2023 – PhD, University of Lausanne, with Sara Mitri & Simon van Vliet
2021–2022 – PhD, University of Lausanne, with Alma Dal Co
2020–2021 – PhD, University of Zürich
2017–2019 – MSc Physics, ETH Zürich
2013–2017 – BSc Physics, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”

As a nanoscience student, I have enjoyed a very broad education in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. This has led me to being interested in interdisciplinary projects where expertise of different fields comes together to discover new findings. Since my Master’s studies I have been working on research in microbiology where I am generally interested in quantitative and computational approaches. Now at the Biozentrum, I get to combine the expertise of three research groups to study bacterial biofilms with tools like microfluidics, fluorescence microscopy, image analysis, and potentially more.

Short CV
Since 2022 – PhD, University of Basel, with Urs Jenal, Knut Drescher & Simon van Vliet
2020-2021 – Civil Service, Swiss TPH, Basel, with Sébastien Gagneux
2019-2019 – Intern, Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel
2017-2020 – MSc in Nanoscience, University of Basel, with Urs Jenal
2012-2016 – BSc in Nanoscience, University of Basel

I was drawn to the study of physics by its ability to bridge diverse disciplines, and am now specializing in Complex Systems Physics, for which the integration of varied perspectives is crucial. Currently, I’m exploring the fascinating intricacies of microbial communities, employing computational methods to understand their emergent dynamic.

I am trained as a Microbiologist in Basel and Zürich. During my masters, I studied microbial interactions of plant symbionts at a molecular level. Currently, in the group of Simon van Vliet, I can follow my excitement for microbial interactions using a systems biology-based approach. In my project I combine microfluidic experiments, microscopy, and mathematical modeling to study how spatial interactions between two human pathogens can alter antibiotic tolerance.

Short CV
Since 2022 – PhD, University of Basel, with Simon van Vliet
2021-2022 – Intern, Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel
2019-2021 – MSc Microbiology, University of Zürich, with Gabriella Pessi
2016-2019 – BSc Biology, University of Basel

My training was in computational biology and I would like to use this knowledge to decipher the mechanisms that govern the ecology and evolution of bacteria. To achieve this goal, I use data science, models and experiments. As part of the groups of Olga Schubert & Martin Ackermann and of Simon van Vliet, I am currently focusing on the metabolic exchanges that bacteria can have with their environment and others, and their impact on themselves and the whole community.

Short CV
Since 2023 – PhD, ETH Zürich & EAWAG, with Olga Schubert, Martin Ackerman & Simon van Vliet
2022–2023 – PhD, University of Lausanne, with Alma Dal Co
2021–2022 – Intern & Research Assistant, Karolinska Institutet, with Jean Hausser
2018–2021 – MSc in Engineering from INSA Lyon, Specialisation in Biosciences (Bioinformatics and Modeling program), INSA Lyon

I am a French agronomist with interests in plant pathogens and systems biology. During my PhD at the Laboratory of Plants-Microbes-Environment Interactions (Toulouse, France), I used genomics and transcriptomics approaches to understand the early steps of plant infection by the Xanthomonas bacterial pathogen. Currently, as a NCCR Microbiomes postdoc researcher in the groups of Sara Mitri at the University of Lausanne and Simon van Vliet at the Biozentrum, my research focuses on pathogen ecology at the single-cell level. I combine microfluidics, fluorescence microscopy and mathematical modeling to understand how collective behaviors and short-range pathogen-commensal-immunity interactions can affect pathogen establishment in the plant.

Short CV
Since 2023 — Postdoc, University of Lausanne with Sara Mitri & Simon van Vliet 
2021–2022 — Postdoc, University of Lausanne, with Alma Dal Co
2017–2021 — PhD, University of Toulouse, with Alice Boulanger & Emmanuelle Lauber  
2012–2017 — MSc Agronomy, Agrocampus Ouest Rennes, with Alexandre Degrave