Natural and laboratory wildtype populations of Drosophila melanogaster harbor a remarkable amount of phenotypic variation in their life history traits such as lifespan and fecundity. I am interested in the genetic factors and molecular mechanisms that underlie this variation in natural as well as artificial selection populations (experimental evolution). My Ph.D. project involves determining how specific candidate genes and allelic variants influence reproduction, growth and lifespan in fruit flies by using different functional genetic approaches. In the long run, I hope to be able to contribute to a better understanding of the evolutionary pathways that determine important life history traits, with a focus on aging and longevity.
From 2013
Ph.D. student at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), supervised by Prof. Thomas Flatt
2013
Diploma degree (Master equivalent) in Molecular Biology at the University of Vienna
2012
Internship with Prof. Wolfgang Miller, Laboratories of Genome Dynamics, Medical University of Vienna: “Determination of Wolbachia prevalence in Glossina spp.”
2010 – 2011
Diploma thesis under supervision of Prof. Johannes Grillari at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna: “hsa-miRNA-663 in replicative and DNA damage induced senescence of human dermal fibroblasts”
Internship with Prof. Franz Klein, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Vienna: “Hotspot/axis determination during meiotic recombination in yeast”.
