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I have always been fascinated by nature's impressive biodiversity and curious about how it has emerged. This led me to do my studies in biology. For my master, I specialized in ecology since I wanted to understand the complex interactions between the different components of nature. It soon became clear that my interest in evolutionary biology was strongest. Therefore, I focused on the population genomics of speciation in two recently diverged Chinese Populus species for my master’s project, performing genome scans for reproductive isolation, as well as demographic inferences.

For my PhD, I'm working on Aquilegia, a genus of beautiful flowering plants within the family Ranunculaceae. This genus has experienced adaptive radiations in Eurasia as well as North America and consists of about 70 species which are widely interfertile (especially within geographic regions). Interestingly, one of the seven Aquilegia chromosomes, chromosome 4, seems to differ in its evolutionary history from the rest of the genome, since its phylogenetic history is systematically different, and its levels of polymorphism are much higher.

Currently, I’m analyzing the relationships of European Aquilegia species using population-scale genomic data, and I’m working on generating the first European Aquilegia reference genome. In the longer term, I plan to try to pinpoint the evolutionary origin of the aberrant chromosome 4 by looking at the homologue in other genera which are closely related to Aquilegia. Another objective of mine is to analyze the factors playing a role in the European Aquilegia radiation, with a special focus of hybridization.

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For my Bachelor’s thesis, I generated multiple glycoprotein O (gO) variant strains of HCMV (human cytomegalovirus) to characterize the effects of known alternative gO alleles on viral infectivity. I constructed HCMV BAC (bacterial artificial chromosome) vectors, which I then used to transfect cells and assay infectivity.

For my Master’s thesis, I worked on developing a DNA-DNA proximity assay in budding yeast to investigate how Spo11, a protein essential for meiotic recombination, associates with topologically distinct forms of DNA. To do this, I employed the integrase of the PhiC31 phage in a two-step expression-regulated setup. Once expressed, it catalyzes a site-specific recombination reaction resulting in unequal sister chromatid exchange, which is quantified via qPCR.

Beyond the lab, I have had a lifelong passion for nature, specifically for fauna of high-biodiversity environments, both on land and underwater. This passion has led me to many interesting ecosystems around the globe, motivated me to study biology at the University of Vienna, and now to transition from genetic engineering focused molecular work to population genetics.

During my PhD, I aim to further our understanding of speciation, specifically through processes akin to those driving the buildup of reproductive isolation under the model of mutation-order speciation. In our case, however, they would act on preexisting alleles (standing genetic variation) rather than new mutations. To achieve this, I will utilize the substantial repertoire of evolving D. melanogaster and D. simulans populations that have been maintained and evolved for upwards of 350 generations.

Subpopulations originating from the same ancestral population, maintained in parallel without gene flow among them, almost fulfill the assumptions of mutation-order speciation: they are allopatric and exposed to uniform selective pressures. In practice, our populations come closer to meeting these assumptions than most natural systems, making them a prime system for finding empirical evidence supporting this framework.

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I started my undegraduate studies with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and in Computer Science. During my last year I had the chance to work on some biological data which introduced me to Bioinformatics and Biology as a whole. I obtained a master’s degree in Bioinformatics from Sorbonne-Universite, and during my internship I developed a real taste for research in the field of epigenetics, as I dived deep into the mechanisms underlying epigenetic regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

I am currently a PhD candidate as part of the Nordborg group at GMI where I try to understand the role of DNA methylation in adaptation, still working with that same model organism.

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After one course in genetics during my sophomore year, my passion for Biology was recommenced after nearly being lost due to heavily memorization-oriented zoology and botany courses. I’ve realized how lucky I am to find genetics as logical, quantitative, and that it has laws to follow. Hence I decided to dedicate my career to this field.

I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology at Sun Yat-Sen University, China, with my thesis project aiming at improving the GWAS results of Major Depression Disorder in humans via empowering pleiotropic genetic markers, which also contributed to one bigger project of the lab assessing the total genetic contribution of each genetic variant across a wide range of phenotypes, lately published in Nature Communications.

In order to improve my knowledge and skills about genomic analysis, I further continued a Master's degree in Bioinformatics at Uppsala University, Sweden. For my thesis study, I conducted QTL analyses of multiple traits in a body-weight-selected chicken intercross line, and it was during that process, I found my particular interest and passion in evolutionary genetics. Therefore, I joined the program at the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics to pursue a Ph.D. degree in evolutionary genetics.

During my Ph.D. studies, I will contribute to the work in temperature adaptation of Drosophila simulans. The genomic signatures were previously studied after the fruit flies are adapted to a cold or a hot environment respectively, while my project aims to reveal what will happen if the selection pressure is reversed, i.e., changing the cold-adapted flies to a hot environment. It is anticipated that we can rule out lab adaptation better and improve the efficiency of selection providing higher allele frequency of potentially selected alleles after the first stage of selection with this particular study design.

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I began my undergraduate studies in Genomics at the University of Bologna, where I was first introduced to population genetics. I was quickly fascinated by this field, especially for its applications in plants and agriculture. For my MSc, I was accepted into the honors program at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA), a leading Italian research college with a program focused on Green Biotechnology and Plant Sciences. During my internship, I contributed to the characterization of the genotypic and phenotypic diversity of a new mapping population in barley to identify novel targets for molecular breeding. 

Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Nordborg lab at Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI). My project focuses on the analysis of high-throughput phenotyping data generated from 1000 natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana from the 1001 Genomes set using RGB imaging, PAM chlorophyll fluorescence, and hyper spectral imaging. This comprehensive dataset will allow me to explore the association between phenotypic variation and genetic diversity and to gain novel insights into the genetic basis of plant adaptation.

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I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Genetics and my master’s degree in Bioinformatics from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. During my master's studies, I focused on human population genetics. My thesis centered on unraveling the genetic origins of Mercheros, a Spanish ethnic minority. Before finishing my master’s, I joined Summer of High-Performance Computing 2020 hosted by the PRACE.

During my PhD at PopGen Vienna, I will be working on understanding polygenic adaptation. My main goal is to explore what happens once populations adapt to a new environment, aiming to understand which genetic forces shape the genome once trait optimum is reached. To do so, I will be working with Drosophila simulans populations that have been under selective pressure for more than 200 generations.

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As I grew up in a small village in the mountains of Lebanon, I was always amazed by the area’s diversity and how every species has adapted to its environment. This fueled my curiosity to study biology and adaptation. Before learning about the theory of evolution, it was all unexplainable to me. Thus, I decided to study biology at the Lebanese University. I then pursued a Master's degree in plant protection at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, with my thesis focusing on unveiling the genetic background of resistance against the PVY virus in a specific potato cultivar.

However, my studies drew my attention to more sophisticated unanswered questions, such as what are the forces creating the enormous complexities at the genomic and phenotypic levels of different organisms. My passion for more theoretical, challenging, and evolutionary biology-focused studies led me to apply to the PhD program at the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics.

Currently, I have joined the group of Robert Kofler, and during my PhD, we will conduct experimental evolution studies to understand the genetic and adaptive architecture of body size variation under truncating selection in Drosophila simulans.

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I completed my undergraduate studies in marine biology and later pursued a master's degree in marine environment and resources (MER+) through the Erasmus Mundus program in four European universities. For my master's thesis, I worked on the evolution of sex-associated genomic variation of Littorina saxatilis (rough periwinkle) at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Following this, I joined the Barton group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) as a scientific intern, continuing my MSc thesis project. Since September 2023, I joined the Plant Ecological Genomics group (Dr Ovidiu Paun) at the University of Vienna to do my PhD on the role of structural variation in the adaptive radiation of the persimmon tree (Diospyros) in the New Caledonia archipelago.
 

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I did my bachelor's in Bioinformatics followed by a master's in Systems Biology and Bioinformatics from Panjab University, India. During my bachelor's thesis, I worked on understanding the genetic basis of a rare but aggressive cancer called Angiosarcoma. The research focused on finding biomarkers that could help improve prognosis and diagnosis. During my master's, I worked on Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD). ADPKD is a fairly common hereditary disease of kidneys but has limited treatment strategies. This project focused on looking for alternative drug targets that will help improve disease therapeutics. 

During my PhD, I'll focus on understanding complex interactions in the context of a recombining organism, i.e. Drosophila. Complex interactions refer to interactions within the genome and interactions of the complex environment with the genome. For this, I'll use a system with a low genetic diversity by limiting my starting populations to have only two genotypes. This project will provide new insight into the ongoing debate about the importance of non-additive interactions in evolution.

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During my bachelor’s studies in Biotechnology at Universidad de Zaragoza I developed a particular interest in the ecological aspects of microbial diversity. For this reason, in my bachelor thesis I aimed to understand why two soil microbial communities had a different growth promotion effect on the legume species Lotus japonicus and Lotus burttii. After my bachelor, I moved to Vienna to study Microbial Ecology at Univ. of Vienna, where I prioritised my formation in bioinformatics and metagenomics. For my master thesis I looked at the differences between microbial communities sampled from hyper-saline and from arid environments. I used a combined approach of comparative metagenomics and fluorescent microscopy to study how closely related bacteria had evolved to cope with different extreme conditions.

During my PhD at PopGen Vienna, I will look at the evolutionary dynamics of the Drosophila gut microbiome. I will leverage D. simulans populations evolved artificially in two temperature regimes to study how gut-associated bacteria adapt to the host’s temperature.

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I’m a Ph.D. based at Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI). My main interest is the genome organization of one of the model plants - Arabidopsis thaliana. During my Ph.D., I’m working on two projects studying this question from different points of view.

In one of my projects, I’m aiming to explain an unusual polymorphism pattern that occurs in Arabidopsis thaliana pericentromeric regions. This pattern is unusual because the number of the plant's polymorphism is lower near pericentromeric areas and bigger in the chromosomal arms which are explained usually by the highest crossover rates in arms. There are plenty of questions in this project that I am fascinated by: is this pattern specific only to A. thaliana? What causes this pattern to appear in Arabidopsis or near-on kin genomes? Are genes inside patterns of increased polymorphism contributing to a special functional category?

In my second project, I’m investigating a more narrow question dedicated to identifying regulators of the DECREASE IN DNA METHYLATION 1 (DDM1) pathway in A. thaliana. This pathway plays a central role in transposable elements (TEs) silencing in Arabidopsis by interaction with plant-specific histone H2A (H2A.W) which brings special nucleosome properties and silences TEs with the H3K9me1/2 histone variant. The aim of this project is to identify molecular regulators of the DDM1 pathway using a progeny with a portion of resilience TEs obtained from crosses between natural accessions and DDM1 mutants.

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My interest in Evolution has been a constant in my life ever since I learned about it. Due to this interest, I got selected for the KVPY scholarship using which I enrolled for my undergraduate studies at IISER Mohali, India. During the five years of my studies, I was exposed to the major basic sciences through theoretical and practical courses. My MS thesis project focused on the dynamics of coinfection of pathogens in baseline D. melanogaster population. I graduated with an integrated BS/MS degree with a major in Biology.  

My enthusiasm for Evolution and Genetics only increased through these years, encouraging me to pursue a PhD in the same. At Prof. Schlötterer’s lab, I will be studying adaptation to density-dependant selection using experimental evolution in D. simulans populations. By conducting evolve and re-sequence, and DNA and RNA sequencing on these evolved populations, we hope to identify the loci which are adapting due to this selection pressure, and also their molecular and biological functions, thus helping to identify their phenotypic targets.

The interdisciplinary research conducted at the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics provides the perfect foundation for me to acquire new skills and gain more knowledge.

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At the University of Vienna, I obtained a bachelor’s in Biology with a focus on Ecology. I wrote my thesis on the Biogeography of Carnivora in the Malay Archipelago. I then entered a master´s program in Evolutionary Systems Biology at the same university. As part of the program, I did an Erasmus internship at the CEFE in Montpellier in which I helped to design, set up and run an evolutionary experiment on adaptation of the green algae Dunaliella salina to multiple stressors. I also contributed phylogenetic analyses on wild strains which – combined with experimental evidence – shed light on the physiological diversity within this species complex and provided arguments for splitting it into multiple species. 

My master´s thesis dealt with the theoretical question of if one could use the (eigen-)patterns of mutational trait correlations to predict their pleiotropic structure. By considering the probability of achieving “hidden pleiotropy,” I was able to argue why a lack of correlation is most likely caused by a lack of pleiotropy. In parallel, I pursued a second master´s degree in Zoology. For this thesis I established a laboratory protocol at the University of Veterinary Medicine of Vienna allowing for non-destructive and minimally invasive DNA extraction from historical pinned insect specimens. 

For my PhD in Robert Kofler´s lab, I aim to use my insect DNA extraction protocol to investigate the history and prevalence of horizontal transposon transfer throughout many taxa. Second, I will continue developing the use of ancient DNA sequencing methodology for novel applications (extracting DNA from the remains of insects from soil, from insects entrapped in copal and from mollusk shells from archeological sites). Finally, I will use spatial phylogenetic modelling to investigate whether environmental factors explain differences in the historical rates of horizontal transposon transfer in European butterflies.

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I obtained my Bachelor's and Master's (BS-MS) degree in Biology from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India. For my Master's thesis, I investigated the behavioral aspects of the neurodegenerative disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. My research focused on examining how neurodegeneration in ALS-affected flies influences motor functions, circadian rhythms, and sleep-wake cycles. Following my Master's, I continued as a research assistant at IISER, further advancing my work in this area.

My fascination with Drosophila as a model organism, along with my broader interests in genetics and evolution, motivated me to pursue a PhD in Evolutionary Genetics. This ultimately led me to join the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics.

During my PhD, I aim to investigate polygenic adaptation using two-genotype experimental evolution studies. My primary objective is to achieve a higher-resolution understanding of genome-wide allele frequency changes in evolving Drosophila populations. To achieve a more fine-grained resolution of the polygenic architecture I plan to minimize the genetic drift by working with exceptionally large population sizes (by Drosophila standards) along with a high number of replicate populations. We believe this approach will provide a more refined resolution of the polygenic architecture, offering deeper insights into recombination breakpoints and linkage dynamics.

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I hold a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science and Technology from Egerton University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Research Methods from Pwani University in Kenya. I obtained a Master of Science in Bioinformatics from Pwani University where my thesis focused on assessing genetic variants associated with vitamin D status of two cohorts of children from Kenya and The Gambia using a genome-wide association study. After my studies, I started an internship at the Pwani University Bioscience Research Centre where I studied the genetic diversity and population structure of cashew trees from the Kenyan coast. These experiences deepened my interest in population genetics, and I later joined the Schlötterer lab at Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics. 

My project investigates endemicity in a Drosophila species known for its high genetic diversity. I will analyze genomic data from evolve-and-resequence experiments and phenotypic data from common-garden experiments across two novel laboratory environments to compare the adaptive responses of this island-endemic species with a cosmopolitan counterpart. The results will provide insight into why the endemic species’ geographical range remains limited despite its genetic variation.

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During my undergraduate studies at the University of Crete in Greece, I specialised in Environmental Biology and the management of natural resources. I completed my thesis on paralogous gene evolution and expression and I continued on an internship at University College London, where I dove into learning how to use bioinformatics skills to study substitution models in deep phylogenies. This internship sparked my interest in developing more computational skills to handle evolutionary questions and led me to obtain an MRES degree on “Computational methods in ecology and evolution” at Imperial College London. My master’s thesis focused on developing a deep learning algorithm to distinguish between hard and soft selective sweeps from low coverage sequencing data of non-model organisms.

During my PhD project, I will be expanding on polymorphism-aware phylogenetic models (PoMos) by introducing PoMo-cod, a codon substitution model for detecting signatures of natural selection on protein-coding genes. PoMo-cod will allow to disentangle the effects of natural selection from known confounding forces (such as mutational biases, demography and GC-biased gene conversion) in determining the genetic diversity of multiple populations and species, thus producing more accurate genome-wide maps of diversifying evolving genes.

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I have a Bachelor's in Biochemistry and Chemistry, and a Master's in Bioinformatics from Makerere University. During my Master's research, I used whole-genome sequence data to identify loci associated with local environmental adaptation of indigenous cattle from Uganda. Cattle are invaluable to the people of Uganda, and identifying loci associated with local adaptation to tropical pests and diseases provides a theoretical basis to support breed amelioration programs. To continue learning about adaptation in sexual organisms, I pursued a bioinformatics fellowship with the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. The fellowship focused on bioinformatics training and detecting signatures of selection in African Anopheles mosquitoes after long-term exposure to insecticides.

While at the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics, my PhD project will investigate the role of standing variation in adaptation using polymorphic populations of Drosophila. I will use the Evolve and Resequence approach to characterise the genetic architecture during temperature adaptation, shedding light on how standing variation shapes the genomic response to selection.

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Ever since I graduated in biology, my academic career has been motivated by an interest in understanding how evolutionary change occurs. As a result, I took a master's degree in genetics at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona and subsequently discovered the potential of Drosophila as a model system in evolutionary biology during my time as an intern at the University of Liverpool. This led me to become a lab technician at PopGen for a year and a half, where I have been involved in an exciting project in Neda Barghi's group on the adaptation of experimentally evolving populations of Drosophila.

I am happy to continue in the same project at PopGen. As a PhD student, I will study polygenic adaptation by investigating what are the genomic and phenotypic changes in populations of Drosophila following a change in the optimal trait. To do this, we are evolving populations of small and large sizes and collecting time series sequencing data.

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I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Biology and my Master's degree in Zoology from the University of Vienna. During my MSc studies, I worked full-time at the Entomology Collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna, where I digitised the Lepidoptera type collection.
For my MSc thesis, I conducted an environmental regulation study, which involved a spectral analysis of commercial street lights and their effects on insects. My research demonstrated that besides high UV emission, insects are also attracted to lamps with higher infrared emissions. After graduating, I worked at Laimburg Research Station in Trentino, Italy, where I empirically tested the effects of invasive species and their antagonists on the endemic fauna. During this time, I developed a strong interest in the genetic adaptations of invasive species. To deepen my knowledge in molecular biology, I pursued a second MSc in Ovidiu Paun’s group, where I investigated differential gene expression in two closely related Bromeliaceae species, which display different photosynthesis systems when exposed to drought stress.
 

Building on this interdisciplinary background, I am excited to pursue my PhD in Robert Kofler's group, where I aim to further develop my bioinformatics skills by studying transposable elements (TEs) and their role in genome dynamics. Transposable elements are powerful drivers of genome evolution and gene regulation, capable of reshaping genomes over time and influencing a wide range of biological processes. In my first project, I will assess if piRNA cluster size predicts the abundance of TE invasions. In my second project, I combine my entomological background with molecular and bioinformatic techniques to detect both past and recent TE insertions in the invasive German Cockroach (Blattella germanica). By integrating data from museum specimens, lab strains, and wild populations, I am investigating how genomic changes have contributed to the adaptation of pest species to anthropogenic environments over time.

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All my life, I have been interested in the science of life. This interest was reflected in my participation in various biological competitions during high school. During my bachelor’s studies, I focused on general biotechnology and microbiology, and my growing interest in genetics became increasingly apparent. I was subsequently accepted into the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Program in Plant Breeding (emPLANT+), where I concentrated on fundamental concepts in genetics and breeding. For my thesis, I studied deleterious mutations in wild and cultivated beets at the Institute of Computational Biology, BOKU, under the supervision of Professor Heinz Himmelbauer. My current research interests focus on deleterious mutations and their effects on fitness

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I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences in Tripoli, Lebanon, followed by a Master’s degree in Advanced Genetics in Barcelona, Spain, where my thesis—“Uncovering Selection in the Human Genome: Integrating Population Genomics with 3D Chromatin Architecture and the Functional Landscape”—strengthened my interest in bridging population genomics, functional genomics, and computational approaches.

Driven by the desire to understand how evolutionary forces shape traits over time, I joined the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics to pursue my Ph.D. My doctoral research focuses on density-dependent selection in Drosophila and the evolution of ageing, using experimental evolution and genomic data to explore how environmental pressure, population dynamics, and resource competition influence life-history traits, senescence, and the maintenance of genetic variation.

Broadly, I am fascinated by how populations adapt, persist, and diverge, and I aim to integrate population genetics, evolutionary biology, and bioinformatics to uncover the mechanisms underlying adaptive change.

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