🎓Congratulations to Margot on successfully defending her PhD “Environmental and structural drivers of algal glycan persistence in the ocean” under the supervision of Prof. Jan-Hendrick.
She joined our network over 3 years ago and has been deeply engaged ever since. Thanks for your great contribution to PriME — we’re happy you’ll be staying with us a little longer as a PostDoc 🤗!
Juanita formally joined PriME in 2022 as a PhD student in Roman Stocker’s lab. Her project focused on investigating how bacteria can modulate changes in their physiology when they experience fluctuations in nutrient concentrations, a condition that closely mimic microbial environments. For this, she not only developed novel milli-fluidics culturing method but also established various collaborations within and outside out network.
She has recently defended her thesis “The physiological response of bacteria to growth under low nutrient concentrations” at the ETH Zurich. She will stay in the Stocker lab until the end of 2025 for finalizing manuscripts.
Thank you for your contribution to PriME, Juanita — your science journey has been amazing as your dedication 👏
Shaelyn joined PriME in 2022 as a PhD student in Victoria Orphan’s lab. During these years she investigated how the spatial structures and functions of microbial communities drive their activities on diatom particles. She used activity-based techniques to explore microbial activity at the single-cell level on particles.
She has recently successfully defended her thesis “From pure cultures to particles: Tracing microbial metabolism through amino acid 2H/1H ratios” and obtained a PostDoc position in the group of Schubert/Ackermann starting from fall 2025.
We are very happy to keep you onboard with us for longer 😀 and looking forward to see your future science discoveries! 🦠🔬🚀
In February and March, we held our regional PriME meetings in US and Europe! More than 20 members of our community gathered in LA and in Zurich respectively and engaged in workshops, group discussions, and presentations – fostering scientific exchange, networking, new ideas, and potential collaborations.
Thank you to everyone who joined and contributed!
We are now looking forward to the Annual Meeting in NY in October 🗽
We congratulate Nguyen on successfully defending her PhD thesis on “Re-entrant Phase Separation of Fucoidan-Protein System” 👏
Nguyen joined PriME as a PhD student in Jan-Henrick Hehemann’s group where she investigated the molecular interaction between proteins and polysaccharides, and how the interaction manifests in bacterial cell physiology.
We wish her all the best in her future endeavors in the world of proteins and polysaccharides 🔬!
A final farewell this year to Rachel Gregor, who joined PriME as a PostDoc in the Cordero lab, where she explored the ecological roles of specialized metabolites in marine microbial communities, such as signaling molecules and vitamins. Her passion for the chemistry of microbial interactions has been inspiring and has driven exciting work in PriME 🧪
As Rachel launches the MicroChemEco Lab at the University of Toronto in 2025, she will focus on engineering chemical interactions in microbial communities for environmental and industrial applications.
Thank you, Rachel, for your invaluable scientific insights and collaborative spirit. Wishing you all the best for the future!
University of Toronto, Canada
Engineering microbiomes through chemistry
Assistant Prof. Rachel Gregor
https://www.gregorlab.com/
A heartfelt farewell to Glen D’Souza, a vital part of the PriME since he joined us as a PostDoc in the Schubert/Ackermann lab. It’s research has delved into microbial community dynamics and cross-feeding interactions, shedding light on how microbes interact and grow within complex environments.
Glen’s collaborative spirit and insightful discussions have fostered a vibrant atmosphere in PriME and resulted in several impactful publications. It has been a pleasure to work alongside him and witness his dedication and enthusiasm 😃.
As Glen prepares to launch his own lab at the Arizona State University in 2025, we are excited to see the innovative directions his research will take 🤗Thank you for your invaluable contribution to PriME, Glen!
Today, we say goodbye to Sammy Pontrelli, a true cornerstone of PriME! Sammy joined us a long time ago as a PostDoc in the Sauer’s lab. Thanks to his innovative work in microbial interactions through metabolomics brought an invaluable contribution to PriME and in general to the understanding of microbial ecosystems.
Beyond his scientific mind, we will miss his cheerful and open nature, which fostered a positive and collaborative atmosphere in our network 🤗
As he embarks on an exciting new chapter, launching his lab at VIB-KU Leuven in January 2025, we eagerly await the breakthroughs his team will achieve. Thank you, Sammy, and best of luck!
Arizona State University, USA
Studying how bacterial behaviours and intercellular interactions influence the composition and functioning of microbial communities
Assistant Prof. Glen D’Souza
https://www.microbialeco.systems/
KU Leuven, Belgium
Uncovering the molecular ecosystem of microbial carbon sequestration
Assistant Prof. Sammy Pontrelli
https://pontrellilab.sites.vib.be/en
USC Department of Biological Science, USA
Tiny cells, global impact
Assistant Prof. Noelle Held
https://proteoceanlab.github.io/
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Unraveling the microscopic life beneath the waves
Dr. Uria Alcolombri
https://www.the-alcolombri-lab.com/
Bowdoin College, USA
Microbial Ecology || Biogeochemistry || Ecosystem Modeling
Assistant Prof. Trang T.H. Nguyen
https://sites.google.com/view/trang-t-h-nguyen/home?authuser=0
USC Dornsife, USA
Microbial collective behavior and symbiosis
Assistant Prof. Julia Schwartzman
https://schwartzmanlab.org/
CNB – National Centre for Biotechnology, Spain
Integrating microbial processes across scales to reveal underlying principles
Principal Investigator Dr. Alberto Pascual-García
https://apascualgarcia.github.io/
Carnegie Science in Biosphere Sciences & Engineering, USA
Biogeochemistry and microbial ecology: Theory and modeling
Principal Investigator Dr. Emily Zakem
https://ezakem.scripts.mit.edu/emilyzakem/
VU Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Integrative microbial ecology
Assistant Prof. Matti Gralka
https://sites.google.com/view/mattigralka/home?authuser=0
University of Vienna, Austria
Studying bacterial community complexity from genes to ecosystem function
Assistant Prof. Shaul Pollak Pasternak
https://envsysmicro.at/
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Our mission is to untangle the intricate dynamics of interspecies interactions, unraveling the profound impact they have on the assembly, function, and evolution of microbial species
Dr. Sivan Pearl
https://pearlmizrahi-lab.huji.ac.il/
Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China
We study the tiny organisms that make the planet the way it is today
Associate Prof. Fabai Wu
https://www.microwulab.com/
Rob Lampe joined PriME in early 2022 as a PhD student in Andrew Allen’s lab. His research focused on how phytoplankton respond to changes in their environment and how these impact the composition of phytoplankton communities, using a combination of field-based experimentation, oceanographic surveys, and culture-based experiments.
Rob has recently defended his thesis “Environmental Genomic Investigations of Phytoplankton in the California Current Ecosystem” and has been awarded a Simons postdoctoral fellowship. In March 2025, he will join Mak Saito’s lab at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to work on the quantifying and modeling micronutrient utilization in marine eukaryotic phytoplankton.
Thank you for your contribution to PriME, Rob – we wish you all the best for your exciting future!🌊
The Simons Foundation welcomed us in NYC from September 9th to 11th.
They have been three days filled with vibrant exchange and interactions! The joint talks highlighted the added value of our consortium’s unique interdisciplinary network, of which we are very proud 😎
Thank you to all participants for the engagement and contribution and the Simons Foundation for the wonderful organization and support. See you again in 2025!
Time flies! Jacob joined PriME in 2018 to pursue his PhD in Terry Hwa’s lab. He investigated the condition-dependent aggregation and disaggregation behavior of an isolate of Alteromonas, a ubiquitous marine genus that is frequently found to be enriched in particle-associated bacterial communities.
He recently successfully defended his thesis, “Aggregation in Marine Bacteria: Sensory Capabilities, Genetic Requirements, and Coupling to Proteolytic Growth”concluding his journey in PriME.
We also congratulate him on being awarded a Simons postdoc fellowship to embark on a new project in Justin Meyer’s lab at UCSD where he will identify phage receptors and resistance mechanisms in Alteromonas.
We’ll stay in touch and wish Jacob success and fun in the new endeavor 🦠!
We want to congratulate Ryan for successfully defending his thesis on “Identifying Functional Metabolic Guilds: A Computational Approach to Classifying Heterotrophic Diversity in the Marine System“. Well done 👏!
We are happy to have him with us a little longer as a PostDoc in Levine’s group 🤗
Astrid joined PriME three years ago to pursue her PhD in the Schubert/Ackermann group. She investigated the role of contact-dependent killing between oceanic microbes by using genomic, transcriptomic, and imaging data from a lab example as well as by studying metagenomes and metatranscriptomes from complex oceanic microbial communities.
She recently successfully defended her thesis on “Nutrient Acquisition Strategies of Heterotrophic Marine Bacteria – From the Microscale to Biogeochemical Cycles”concluding her journey in PriME.
Thank you, Astrid, for your commitment, contribution and nice time spent together in PriME . Goodbye for now and all the best for the future!
We are excited to welcome Kate Evans onboard!
Kate recently joined PriME as a new PostDoc in the Levine’s lab. As a biogeochemist, she will investigate how carbon flux and metabolism vary across different scales, using modeling techniques.
Looking forward to working with you!
Ghita joined PriME five years ago to pursue her PhD in the Hwa’s lab. Her project focused on characterizing the mechanisms that lead to chitin degradation combining quantitative microbiology experiments with mathematical modeling.
She recently successfully defended her thesis on “Life in structured
environments: colonization, growth and dispersal of bacterial populations”concluding her journey in PriME.
Thank you, Ghita, for the enthusiasm and engagement you brought into the collaboration throughout all these years. Goodbye for now and all the best for your next step!
Hagen received the BRIESE Prize 2023 for his groundbreaking research on the long-lasting sugar polymers produced by brown algae, which act as efficient carbon sinks.
His dissertation, awarded ‘summa cum laude,’ overcame significant analytical challenges to reveal the climate-protecting potential of these carbohydrates.
Read more about Hagen’s project and the Prize here!
The four PriME European labs (Stocker, Schubert/Ackermann, Sauer, Hehemann) gathered for an engaging two-day meeting in Zurich. It was amazing to see the progression of ideas generated at last year’s regional meeting into ongoing collaborative projects among different labs.The mixed format, comprising presentations and interactive brainstorming sessions, proved successful once again.
Thank you all participants for contributing to the scientific inspiration and enjoyment of the event (despite the bad weather!).
We say good bye to Xiaoyu, who successfully completed his PhD on ecology and evolution in microbial communities in the group of Otto Cordero at the MIT.
He will start a PostDoc in Dianne Newman’s lab at The California Institute of Technology in California and will keep working on microbes.
We wish him all the best for his next step and lots of fun with the little creatures and California weather!
A warm goodbye to Noelle who joined PriME in early days working as a Postdoc in the group of Schubert/Ackermann at EAWAG in Zurich. Noelle is a microbial biogeochemist and oceanographer and during her PostDoc she investigated how bacteria cope with multiple stressors, to better approximate their behavior in nature.
She is now starting her lab as Assistant Professor at USC where she will continue studying the inner workings of microbial cells, and how this scales up to ecological function and global scale processes. You can follow her here.
Thank you for your work in PriME and all the best for your future!
A warm goodbye to Zach as well. He joined PriME a few years ago working as a Postdoc in the group of Stocker at ETH in Zurich. He used live Raman microspectroscopy to characterize transitions in microbial communities, while attempting to identify the chemical components that underpin these changes.
He will now continue his work as Senior Researcher in the Levine lab at USC. He will stay in touch with PriME and we look forward to seeing him again!
The astrophysicist and President of the Simons Foundation, Dr. David Spergel, visited us on November 21st. PriME members from our group as well as those from the Schubert/Ackermann and the Sauer lab welcomed him, providing hands-on demonstrations and presentations of our ongoing research on marine microbial ecosystems. The visit wrapped up with a round-table with the PriME PIs from ETH. We thank David for his support and we look forward to continued collaboration!
Congratulations Shep!
Shep, from the Moran group, successfully navigated his PhD journey by defending the thesis “Metabolite transport and its role in marine microbial interactions“. 👏🥳
Happy that you will be continuing your research on microbes in PriME in the Orphan’s lab from 2024 😃
Four new scientists have recently joined PriME!
Chandana will work on modeling the structural patterns in marine microbial communities degrading organic matter.
Kunying‘s PhD project will focus on developing microbial solution for the development of marine creatures.
Elisa will investigate the mechanisms regulating particle degradation in the ocean.
Anna aims to elucidate the principles that govern community functions and their stability.
Welcome on board!
The Simons Foundation welcomed 50 members of the collaboration in NYC from September 11th to 13th.
During this time, the PIs and junior members shared knowledge, exciting results , vision about the future of our oceans and much more in an informal and enjoyable atmosphere pampered with delicious food. Along with presentations and posters, vibrant discussion and networking sessions laid the basis for new exciting collaborative projects 🦠↔️ 🦠
Thank you all for joining and see you again in 2024!
A new PriME Dr. is onboard !
Rachel Szabo from the Cordero group has successfully defended her PhD thesis on “The ecology of prophages at the microscale” 👏🥳She will stay in the collaboration and join the Ackermann lab next year!
Looking forward to having you around in Zurich 😊
A new PriME Dr. is onboard !
Jeremy Schreier from the Moran group has successfully defended his PhD thesis on
“Insights into marine bacterial community interactions using novel fitness and chemotaxis assays” 🦠🌊
Happy to see you in the Orphan group from this fall!
It’s hard to say goodbye to Uria, a long-term member of our collaboration.
Thank you for the amazing scientific and personal contribution to PriME! We (and the microbes 🦠) will miss you!
All the best for your new position at Hebrew University and lets stay in touch!