Brief Bio: I am postdoctoral DFG fellow in the Ecology and Evolution Unit at OIST Japan. I would describe myself as a microbial-ecologist by heart, I am continuously getting excited about this field. I studied biology at the Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, continued doing my Ph.D. working on the natural ecology of Saccharomyces yeasts at the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön, Germany, followed by a year working on eco-evo dynamics in an algae-virus system. I generally enjoy combining different approaches like field work, sequencing, lab experiments etc. to gain deeper insight into a study system. Almost four years ago, I exchanged the rainy and cold Northern German weather with a subtropical one by coming to Okinawa (was a good choice for sure ^^).

Here I started working on host-microbiome functional relationships using combinations of controlled experiments and different sequencing techniques in the honey bee system. I currently work on and finish several projects ranging from Metatranscriptomics on an old US bee time-series collected during the Africanization process, to experimentally chemical induced microbiome changes and their inheritance across worker generations, to social resistance sharing processes between workers. I really enjoyed learning about these fascinating eusocial creatures in general, how to beekeep and how to run experiments with them (including mastering accompanied challenges).

microbiome, functional relationships, chemical stress factors, amplicon sequencing, gene expression, microbiome development

Side Note:While research is for sure our main job, I strongly believe that we carry responsibility as scientists to reach out to the public in order to educate, communicate and solve current problems. While this sounds easy, everyone may know that it actually can be difficult to balance. And it gets even more challenging in another country with different spoken and written language and different culture. But it is also highly interesting and rewarding on a personal level.

Together with my colleague Maeva, we initiated the “Honey & Coral” collaboration with Onna village office and local beekeepers in May 2019 which has the aim to protect the coral reefs from bleaching by red soil erosion. Since then, we had many public events together and we could experience how quickly it is possible to establish a mutual trust relationship in which both sites are continuously learning. I am proud that my awesome colleagues and collaboration partners Maeva, Nurit, Saori and I managed to organize a special COLOSS Asia afternoon in which we welcome local beekeepers and our collaborators to listen to scientific talks in Japanese.
I am very much looking forward to the Symposium and the COLOSS Asia event.