Research Interests
My curiosity about plant pathology sparked while witnessing the environmental devastation caused by an invasive pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum. Since then, I've wanted to understand how a pathogen’s underlying genetic architecture, population dynamics, and interactions with its host and environment influence its ability to adapt.
In my Master’s project, I aim to functionally characterize two candidate effector genes in the wheat fungal pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici. The two effector candidates have been identified by comparative transcriptome analyses and show significantly different expression profiles in the wheat pathogen compared to its two closely related sister species Zymoseptoria pseudotritici and Zymoseptoria ardabiliae (both isolated from leaves of wild grass species in the Middle East). I will investigate how these two genes influence the life cycle of the fungus, i.e. success of infection, growth (during biotrophic and necrotrophic phases) and/or reproduction. Furthermore, I aim to understand the genetic diversity of these genes in Z. tritici populations to infer whether they are being positively selected for via antagonistic co-evolution.
Short CV
2017 - current date: M.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Evolution, University of Kiel (CAU) & MPI Plön in Prof. Dr. Eva Stuckenbrock’s lab
March 2016: B.Sc. in Microbiology with a minor in Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity, University of California, Davis