About

I am a microbial systems ecologist studying how microbial processes drive beneficial ecosystem functions that are essential for both human and planetary health. I’m particularly fascinated by how microscopic interactions scale up to influence entire ecosystems.

At the University of Heidelberg in Germany, I studied Biological Sciences (B.Sc.) and Systems Biology (M.Sc.). During this time, I had the opportunity to study and work abroad, first as an exchange student at the University of Leicester (UK), then as a research assistant at the University of Cambridge (UK), and later as a research assistant in Singapore.

I completed my PhD at ETH Zürich (Switzerland) and Eawag (the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland). My research focused on trophic interactions and nutrient acquisition strategies of bacteria.

To dive more into microbial metabolism and its significance for ecosystems, I moved to Melbourne to join the Climate Microbiology group at Monash University as postdoctoral researcher. Here, I studied microbial hydrogen metabolism in the human gut in health and disease. Through a SNSF postdoc.mobility fellowship, I now explores the role of metabolic versatility in microorganisms for their habitat ranges and response to environmental changes.