News

  • You rocked it, Juanita đź’Ş

    May 5, 2025
    Huge congratulations to Juanita 🥳!   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 […]

  • Congratulations, Shaelyn!

    May 1, 2025
    Well done Shaelyn 👏!   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 […]

  • PriME regional meetings

    March 7, 2025
    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 […]

  • Great job, Nguyen!

    February 20, 2025
    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 […]

  • Welcome to the team, Rashi 🤗

    January 14, 2025
    Excited to welcome Rashi to PriME!   She earned her bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering from Caltech before joining the Cordero Lab at MIT to pursue a PhD. Her interests lie in applying quantitative approaches, particularly bioinformatics and genetic tools, to the biology, ecology, and evolution of microbial communities.   Looking forward to working together, Rashi! […]

  • Welcome aboard Michelle!

    January 7, 2025
    We are excited to kick off the new year by welcoming Michelle to the group!   She joins the Moran’s lab as a PhD student, where she’ll explore bacterial community substrate utilization through innovative culture and modeling approaches.   Wishing you a fantastic start in PriME, Michelle! […]

  • See you in Toronto Rachel!

    Photo: Rachel Gregor December 16, 2024
    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 […]

  • A new PriME member!

    December 11, 2024
    Welcome onboard Linda 🤗!   Linda Biehler join us as a new PhD student in the Hehemann’s lab. She will  investigate the abilities and re­act­iv­ity of mar­ine poly­sac­char­ides, focusing on how intermolecular in­ter­ac­tions de­crease or in­crease their sta­bil­ity throughout the wa­ter column, by fluorescently labelling poly- and oligosaccharides.    Wishing her a great start of […]

  • Goodbye Glen!

    December 11, 2024
    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 […]

  • Goodbye Sammy đź‘‹

    December 4, 2024
    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, […]