Michael studied Biology and earned his doctorate in Plant Developmental Genetics at the University of Zürich in Switzerland, where he worked on epigenetic aspects of plant embryo development (Grossniklaus group). He then joined Prof. Dominique Bergmann’s group at Stanford University (California, USA) as a postdoctoral scholar funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Life Science Research Foundation. There, he started to genetically dissect how the grasses form their developmentally and functionally innovative stomata. His group continues trying to understand why and how grasses “breathe” more efficiently.
Heike studied Biology at Heidelberg University before joining the Grossniklaus lab (University of Zurich) as PhD student, where she discovered novel players during pollen tube reception in Arabidopsis. She then moved to Stanford (California, USA) to the group of Prof. José Dinneny (Carnegie Institution) as a postdoc funded by the German Research Foundation. Heike and her team developed a large-scale phenotyping robot (GLO-Bot) to study natural variation of root system architecture in Arabidopsis. Heike will help establish the lab, build the Brachypodium transformation pipeline, develop molecular tools and reagents and study grass leaf development to get a better understanding of systemic developmental pathways under different environmental conditions.
Plant Biologist | Mommy & Wife | Feminist | Vegetarian | Science communication | Open-minded | Loves family, friends, nature, chocolate, & traveling | Strives to have a positive impact on the next generation of scientists, and to meet people with respect and empathy |
Xin studied Horticulture and earned her Bachelor’s degree at Sichuan Agricultural University in China, and then she completed her master’s degree in Pomology working on the molecular mechanism of anthocyanin synthesis in grape at Northwest A&F University in China. She joined the Stomatal Biology group for her PhD in January 2021 on a CSC fellowship and will work to establish the succulent plant Kalanchoë laxiflora as a model system to study anisocytic stomatal development.
Lea completed her bachelor’s in Biological Sciences at the University of Heidelberg working on the morphology and species distinction of Hypericacea. She then joined the lab for her master thesis in which she worked to understand how the mobility of a stomatal lineage transcription factor affects form and function of graminoid stomata and developed an R package to easily plot and visualise stomatal gas exchange data (Licornetics). She decided to stay in the lab for her doctoral studies and continues her M.Sc. project. In addition, she applies single-cell transcriptomics to the developing grass leaf to decode the transcriptional signatures accompanying the development of the grass stomatal lineage.
Plant Scientist | Curious about plant adaptation | Loves films, books, puns, pizza, nature and traveling | Strives to have a positive influence on people and science |
Paola studied Biology at the Pontificia Javeriana University (Bogota, Colombia) before earning her doctorate degree in Evolutionary Biodiversity at the Koch lab (Heidelberg University). She showed that high introgression from wild relatives of Arabidopsis thaliana shaped population dynamics through their cross pollination mechanism. After working for 5 years using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model for root system architecture and stem niche homeostasis, Paola has joined the Stomatal Biology group to investigate how the unique stomatal morphology in grasses contributes to fast stomatal movements. Paola is hired in a collaborative, HFSP-funded project with Prof. Lily Cheung (Georgia Tech, United States) and Prof. Anne-Lise Routier-Kierzkowska (University of Montreal, Canada).
Plant Biologist | Mommy | Feminist | Half-Vegetarian | Science communication | Open-minded | Loves family, friends, nature, dancing & sports | Latin | hopes to contribute to life science knowledge
Dr. Saiko Yoshida (Scientist | Imaging Specialist)
Saiko finished her PhD in Science at the University of Tokyo in Japan. After that, she moved to Europe and has been studying molecular mechanisms of plant development. She is specialized in advanced microscopy, primarily using laser scanning fluorescent microscopes to perform 4D quantitative image analysis. She joined the Stomatal Biology group in March 2023. She will work to establish 4D live imaging systems of Brachypodium and Kalanchoë.
Plant Biologist | Microscopist | keen on Science communication using microscopy images
Anastasiia earned her master’s degree in biology from Novosibirsk State University, where she investigated the molecular mechanisms of lateral root initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. She joined the Stomatal Biology group for her PhD in September 2023 to study cell polarity and epidermis pattern establishment in Brachypodium distachyon.
Plant Geneticist | feminist&queer | passionate about science and literature | strives to be open-minded, curious and kind
Aristides studied Agronomy and obtained his Bachelor’s degree at Universidade Federal do Ceará in Brazil. He then completed his Master’s degree in Plant Physiology working on arsenic tolerance mechanisms in lettuce at Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Brazil. He joined the Stomatal Biology group for his PhD in September 2023 with a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (ESKAS) to study the subsidiary cells’ development and physiological importance in Kalanchoë laxiflora.
Plant physiologist | Passionate about plant science | Strives to be motivated, organized, fair and open-minded | Loves cinema, music, feijoada and meeting new people
Alec completed his bachelor’s degree in plant biology at the UWashington in Seattle, working with Dr. Janneke HilleRisLambers and Dr. Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh. He then received his PhD in evolutionary and ecological plant physiology, working with Dr. Lawren Sack at UCLA. His PhD work focused on elucidating the evolution and development of functional diversity in grass leaf hydraulic transport and adaptation to climate. Some of his other PhD research focused on diverse eudicot species, elucidating the developmental traits that determine the coordination in leaf trichome and stomatal densities, and the leaf expansion processes that determine maximum leaf size. Alec joined the Stomatal Biology group in November 2023. His post-doctoral work will integrate developmental genetics with the evolution and ecology of leaf surface traits in diverse grasses and the model grass Brachypodium distachyon.
Plant evolutionary and ecological physiologist | Leaf and plant enthusiast | Multi-racial | Dog dad | Loves the outdoors, family, friends, traveling/exploring, food, and fitness | Strives to be inclusive, open-minded, and curious
After finishing her master’s thesis in the Stomatal Biology group, Lidia decided to stay for a PhD and continue her work to study the genetic network guiding stomatal development in Kalanchoë laxiflora.
Developmental biologist | Feminist | Vegan | Loves plants, dogs, hiking, powerlifting and concerts | Passionate about human rights, animal rights, environmental protection and education | Strives to be open-minded, curious and compassionate |
Dr. Aurélia Emonet (returning postdoc fellow from Hay lab @MPI)
Aurelia studied Biology at the Universities of Fribourg and Lausanne in Switzerland before earning her PhD in Life Sciences in the group of Prof. Niko Geldner (University of Lausanne). There, she investigated how plants spatially restrict immune responses to specific root cell layers to accommodate their microbiome. She then joined Dr. Angela Hay’s lab at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (Cologne, Germany), funded by a Max Planck Gesellschaft Fellowship and an SNSF Postdoc Mobility Fellowship. During her postdoc, she developed Cardamine chenopodiifolia as a unique model system to study polar lignin structures linked to explosive seed dispersal, and novel traits such as amphicarpy. In 2025, she joined the Stomatal Biology group with an SNSF Return Grant to complete her work on explosive fruits and benefit from the lab’s expertise with non-model systems.
Plant Cell Biologist | Science Communicator | Nature Enthusiast | Loves hiking, diving, sports, traveling & literature | Strives to be curious, enthusiastic, honest, open-minded & supportive
Charlotte studied plant sciences with a Bachelor’s degree in cell biology and physiology in Lille (France) and then with a Master’s degree in Toulouse (France). Throughout her academic career, her aim was to reveal the role of certain uncharacterized Arabidopsis proteins through genetic, microscopic and protein biochemical approaches. In particular, she completed her thesis in Grégory Vert’s lab, on MBAP proteins as a link between cortical microtubules and the brassinosteroid receptor BRI1. She joined the stomatal biology team in February 2025 to develop proteomics techniques in Brachypodium. Her main goal is to identify the partners of polarized proteins crucial in the asymmetric divisions that form stomata and subsidiary cells in grasses.
Plant scientist | Addicted to proteins and microscopy | Cat mom | Love food, fitness, travelling, music, friends & family | Strives to be curious, open-minded, sociable
Pawandeep studied plant biology, with a Bachelor’s degree in Botany (India) and a master’s in Biotechnology (India). During his academic journey, he was interested in understanding plant responses and adaptations to abiotic stresses. For his PhD thesis at NIPGR, India, he aimed to determine the key responses against low phosphorus in rice and chickpea. He identified key genetic determinants for root hair length response against low phosphorus in chickpea using transcriptomics and association mapping. Also, using trait physiology and QTL mapping, he identified critical traits and QTLs for low phosphorus tolerance in rice. His additional research involves the genetic analysis of how chickpea roots respond to compacted soil and how changes in plant lipidome are associated with phosphorus utilization efficiency. Pawandeep joined the stomatal biology group in March 2025 to study Brachypodium stomatal diversity and its importance in climate change resilience. He aims to identify key genetic determinants and corresponding mechanisms for stomatal anatomical and physiological traits in different temperature regimes for the Brachypodium diversity panel.
Quantitative geneticist | enthusiastic about plant adaptations and phenotypic plasticity | intrigued by new technological advancements, machine learning, and AI | photography, food, history, literature, and music | close to family and friends | strives to be open-minded, inclusive, supportive and compassionate |
