PhD Student
Nicolas is a biologist by training and obtained his bachelor’s degree at the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz where he characterized the chemical profile of neotropical ants using a GC-MS-based analysis. He completed his master’s degree at the University of Cologne conducting an untargeted LC-MS approach to identify a metabolite crucial for a predator-prey interaction in the freshwater system. During his master project, he developed a strong interest in the field of metabolomics and a motivation to develop new skills and gain additional knowledge in the application of metabolomics approaches, from model systems to human population studies.
For his PhD project, Nicolas utilizes an LC-MS-based quantitative lipidomics approach – which was recently developed and optimized in our lab – for a longitudinal profiling of a healthy cohort of the adult Lausanne population (CoLaus). He will evaluate age-mediated changes in the circulatory lipid and steroid composition, and by using Mendelian Randomization, evaluate the causality between measured metabolite levels and complex health outcomes. The project is conducted in collaboration with Prof. Zoltán Kutalik team (Statistical Genetics group, Unisanté) and Prof. Pedro Marques-Vidal (CHUV, CoLaus Clinical Consortium).
