I am fascinated by the interactions between eukaryotic hosts and their microbial symbionts, particularly their evolution in changing environments. I completed my PhD at the University of Queensland in Brisbane Australia, and then moved to Helsinki for my first research fellowship, where I worked on population genetics and adaptation in the Glanville fritillary butterfly. After a couple of years at the University of Lund on a Marie Curie Fellowship (2018-2020), I am now back in Helsinki as the leader of the Insect Symbiosis Ecology and Evolution research group.
I joined the ISEE lab as a graduate student in December 2019. I am fascinated by symbiotic relationships and how they affect the evolution of the species involved in the interaction. Currently, I am working on the diversity, transmission, and evolution of bacterial symbionts in the insect community associated with the ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata). To address my questions, I am combining fieldwork across the Åland archipelago, Finland, experiments in the laboratory, molecular work, and phylogenetic analyses. I am funded by LUOVA, and co-supervised by Dr. Saskya van Nouhuys from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India.
I joined the ISEE lab as a doctoral researcher in November 2023, funded by the 'MiSSA' project funded by the Research Council of Finland. I have a keen interest in bioinformatics and data mining. Currently, I am conducting research on the microbiome of various common pollinators from the Baltic region, using amplicon and metagenomics sequencing methods. I thoroughly enjoy the work I am doing and hope to significantly contribute to this field. I am co-supervised by Dr. Johan Ekroos from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
I have a PhD in Plant Physiology from the Stockholm University, Sweden (2019). I am working on a comparative genomics project aiming at characterizing the genomic diversity of Wolbachia in various insects, their phylogenetic relationship and evolutionary history.
I joined the ISEE lab as a project planner. I've been helping with organizing the BioBlitz 2024 event and outreach, designing the Viikki Campus Nature Walk, and some other tasks.
I hold a BSc in Ecology from the University of Calgary and a MSc in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Helsinki. My research interests lie in insect ecology and evolution, with a focus on host-symbiont relationships and phylogenetics. For my master's thesis, I investigated speciation in Cotesia wasps and the role of Wolbachia in species radiation under the supervision of Dr. Anne Duplouy and Dr. Federica Valerio. I plan to continue this research at the doctoral level, exploring the evolutionary dynamics of Cotesia speciation.
I am a student of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Master program at the University of Helsinki. My Master's thesis is on variations in the microbiota of Atlantic Salmon populations from Finland. I am supervised by Dr. Tutku Aykanat (University of Helsinki), and co-supervised by Dr. Anne Duplouy.