Hello! My name is Kadri Maal and I am joining prof. Alexandre Reymond’s group as a PhD student starting this August.

I did both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Gene Technology, at the University of Tartu, Estonia. In addition to that, I studied psychology as my minor during my Bachelor. For my Master’s thesis, I researched a pharmacogene CYP2C19 at the Estonian Genome Center in cooperation with the Bioinformatics department of the University of Tartu. My study aimed to find and experimentally confirm deletions of the CYP2C19 gene, based on the data from the Estonian Biobank, and to determine the frequencies of these deletions in the Estonian population. I am excited to continue exploring the structural variations of the human genome here at UNIL.

I have a total of 3 years of work experience working at the Synlab Estonia medical laboratory in the department of molecular biology as a laboratory technician. I did a one-year internship at Oxgene, a biotechnology company based in Oxford, England, in their Lentiviral Manufacturing subteam. And worked as a Specialist of Pharmacogenomics in prof. Lili Milani’s group at the University of Tartu. Where I got to contribute to the creation of the Estonian Biobank’s Portal, which has provided about 210 000 Estonians with information about their genomes, including genotypes of important pharmacogenes, polygenic risk scores for specific diseases, and an ancestry report.

Most recently, I was working as a Research Assistant in professor Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg’s group at the Karolinska Institute, in the department of Physiology and Pharmacology, section of pharmacogenetics. My latest research focused on Friedreich’s ataxia and the frataxin protein expression in human cell lines, and using primary human or mouse hepatocyte 3D spheroid cell cultures to investigate possible drug candidates.

Having ample work experience working both in academia and industry has shown me that I want to advance my career in academia and more specifically in the field of human genomics.  Which is the reason I am here now and very excited to start my new research at UNIL with prof. Reymond and his group.

Hope to see you around!

My name is Ning Zhang, and I am very happy to join Richard Benton’s lab as a visiting scholar. I come from China, where I am pursuing my PhD at Nanjing Agricultural University in Jiangsu Province. My research there focuses on post-mating behaviors in the agricultural pest brown planthopper and the model insect *Drosophila melanogaster*, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying these behaviors.

Now, supported by the China Scholarship Council, I have come to Richard Benton’s lab to study the molecular mechanisms of insect toxin sensitivity and resistance.

I am fascinated by all aspects of insect behavior and believe that insects possess many ingenious molecular and metabolic systems that help them adapt to environmental changes. If you are interested in any insect-related behaviors, I would be very happy to discuss them with you.

Outside of work, I enjoy physical activity. My favorite forms of exercise are yoga and jazz dance, as they can be done indoors and are not overly exhausting.

I look forward to meeting you all.

Hi, my name is Léo Michel and I am excited to join Johannes Larsch’s lab as a postdoc.

After graduating from a Bachelor in Lyon (France) with a major in physiology. I then devoted my studies toward marine organisms. I had a growing interest over brain evolution and so I enrolled in the Marine Biology master in Sorbonne University. I then conducted my PhD entitled “Evolution of habenular subdomain organization in gnathostome”. I have worked under the supervision of Sylvie Mazan in Banyuls-sur-Mer. My PhD work mostly focused on understanding the asymmetric organization of the habenula in a broad vertebrate sampling, and more specifically in the catshark, a chondrichthyan fish (don’t picture JAW, it’s more like TOOTH).

While I had learnt a lot regarding brain evolution in the vertebrate taxa, I was equally eager to learn more about functional aspects. I decided to join the laboratory of Manuel Mameli in Lausanne as a post-doctoral fellow to gain more knowledge and know-how about circuits, behavior, states and disease. Bridging a brain structure that I was familiar with : the lateral habenula. My project in Lausanne aimed at understanding the contribution of non-neuronal cells to specific behavioral outcomes and focus especially on the encoding of aversion when mice are exposed to threats and the balance between active coping and passive coping state.

I am now happy to join the lab of Johannes Larsch where I plan to gain knowledge about social aspects of the brain in the zebrafish model. A model organism that I would like to pursue working with in the future. Bridging cell identity and function in a Neuro-Evo lab idea.

I am looking forward to meet everyone and the free pizzas. See you around !

Hello ! My name is Pauline Rogg, I am very happy to join Alexandre Reymond’s lab as a PhD student. 

I come from Geneva and I moved to Lausanne to study at EPFL where I obtained my Bachelor in Life Sciences and Technologies and later my Master in Life Sciences Engineering. During my studies, I developed a great interest in genetics and bioinformatics in general, which was confirmed during my master project, where I developed a method to test for association between rare and deleterious variants and a given phenotype.

Before joining the CIG, I worked in the Biotech department of a pharmaceutical company where I monitored the production of recombinant hormones.  In my free time, I enjoy going out for a run or a hike in the mountains. I also enjoy reading tons of books and playing the guitar. 

I am very excited about joining the CIG and I’m looking forward to meeting you ! 😊

Hello! My name is Frédéric Murisier, and I am excited to join Professor Jean-Yves Roignant’s team as a PhD student. I am eager to contribute to the lab’s research on RNA methylation as part of my doctoral journey.

I am originally from Switzerland. I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and my Master’s degree in Bioinformatics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. Before joining this team, I worked for over two years in an epigenetics lab focused on cancer research, where I developed a strong foundation in computational biology and genomics.

My goal is to pursue a PhD to deepen my knowledge and further develop my skills in bioinformatics, particularly in the context of gene regulation mechanisms. I am passionate about unraveling complex biological systems through data analysis and am eager to expand my expertise in this exciting field.

Outside of research, I enjoy climbing and running, always looking for new challenges and ways to push my limits.

I am thrilled to begin this new adventure and look forward to collaborating with everyone in the lab!

” Hello everyone! I am Dr. Venkatesh, Pal Mahadevan. I have recently joined CIG as a postdoc in Benton’s group. I originally come from Pune, which is a city in the central part of India. I obtained my PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena (2024), where I investigated the neuroecology of two non-model drosophilid species. Now, I plan to study the evolution of neural circuits and tolerance mechanisms to noxious chemicals in various drosophilids. I am looking forward to interacting with you over time either at common meetings or at social events! “