I joined the Rhizosphere Lab in October 2025 as a DPhil student. My research focuses on the phosphotransferase system for nitrogen (PTSNtr) and its role in regulating nutrient uptake in Rhizobium leguminosarum. By combining genetics, proteomics, and computational modelling, I aim to identify proteins that interact with the central regulator PtsN and determine how these interactions contribute to nutrient sensing and metabolic regulation. I am also investigating how PTSNtr influences small RNA-mediated regulation of ABC transporters during nitrogen limitation. My project is co-supervised by Dr. Carmen Sánchez-Cañizares, Dr. Marjorie Fournier, and Associate Professor Jani Bolla.
Before starting my DPhil at the University of Oxford, I completed my B.Sc. in Biology and M.Sc. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU). During my undergraduate studies, I worked with Dr. Macarena Marín Arancibia on the characterization of plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas strains isolated from legume nodules and their interactions with host plants. During my master’s, I joined Professor Martin Parniske’s group, where I worked closely with Dr. Katarzyna Parys to identify protein interaction partners of the symbiotic receptor kinase SymRK and its homologous receptor-like kinases (SHRKs), helping to understand their roles in root nodule symbiosis. For my master’s thesis, supervised by Dr. Sophie Brameyer, I investigated the impact of environmental stress conditions on phage-antibiotic synergy in Escherichia coli, examining how oxygen and nutrient availability influence bacterial responses to combined phage and antibiotic treatment.
Rhizosphere 