Bio
I am a professor at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena (Germany) and the Scientific Director of the Leibniz Institute on Aging (Fritz-Lipmann Institute), where I also coordinate the research focus on Microbiome and Aging.
I am an evolutionary biologist and I study why we age. In my group we investigate how evolution shapes life history traits across species in nature. We apply an evolutionary and ecological perspective to the study of host-microbiome interactions in the context of health, disease and aging. Our work is at the confluence of evolutionary theory, ecology, genomics, and animal physiology. We employ statistical modeling, experimental biology, and field work to answer open questions and help develop interventions to improve biomedical resilience.
Education
Scuola Normale Superiore | Pisa, Italy
Ph.D. in Neuroscience | January 2003 – April 2006
University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore | Pisa, Italy
M.Sc. in Biological Sciences | September 1996 – October 2001
Academic Appointments
Cluster of Excellence — Balance of the Microverse (FSU) | Jena, Germany
Principal Investigator | since April 2023
Friedrich Schiller University (FSU) | Jena, Germany
Full Professor in Functional Host-Microbiome Interactions | since July 2021
Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute | Jena, Germany
Senior Researcher | since July 2021
Teaching
Population Genetics | May 2021, University of Cologne, Germany
Biology of Aging | July–August 2023, MBL Summer Course, Woods Hole, USA
Evolutionary Biology of Aging | January 2026, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany