CBU

Maria Johansen
Maria was a researcher funded by the ERC through EvoConBiO, exploring how organelle genomes have evolved over time, and how modern-day cells control these populations to survive. Her background is cancer research and evolutionary cell biosciences from university of Oslo. She went on to work with as a senior research adviser at UiB.

Shibani Veeraragavan
Shibani was a postdoctoral researcher funded by the EvoConBio project. She worked on exploring the evolution of mitochondrial DNA populations in cells and the way in which cells optimize the processes involved. She worked on the biophysical modelling of flagella during her PhD and the optimization of employee rosters during her undergraduate in Chemical Engineering. She is broadly interested in understanding how cells evolve and adapt to their dynamic environments. She went on to work with SciLife Lab in Sweden.

Kostas Giannakis
Kostas was a postdoc funded by the ERC through EvoConBiO, exploring the links between organismal lifestyle and organelle genome structure, the ongoing games played between organelles and their host cells, and theoretical (but useful!) questions related to processes on graphs and networks. Kostas’ personal site is here and his papers with the group include: Avoiding organelle mutational meltdown (PLOS Biol 2021). He went on to work with the Norwegian Public Health Institute.

Arunas Radzvilavicius
Arunas joined us as a visiting fellow to explore the evolutionary effects of mitochondrial diversity and genome integrity across multiple biological scales. He studies fundamental processes that generate and regulate mitochondrial diversity within cells, organisms and populations — working towards developing a theory of eukaryotic sex evolution based on the interplay between mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Arunas’ papers with the group include: Avoiding organelle mutational meltdown (PLOS Biol 2021); mitonuclear linkage and sex (J Evol Biol 2021). He went on to work with Nature Human Behaviour.

Sam Greenbury
Sam was a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with the EPSRC Centre for the Mathematics of Precision Healthcare at Imperial College. He went on to continue postdoc work at Imperial College. Sam’s papers with the group (including prior to its current incarnation) include: Evolvability, robustness, and network topology (JTB 2010); Modelling quaternary structure (Interface 2014); Malaria risk and progression pathways (npj Digital Medicine 2019). he went on to further postdoctoral work at Imperial.

Joanna Chustecki
Jo was a PhD candidate funded by the BBSRC MIBTP scheme, working on the dynamics of mitochondria in plant cells. She used confocal microscopy, physical modelling, and network science to explore the relationships between mitochondria in cells and how these relationship may benefit the organism. Jo’s papers with the group include: Avoiding organelle mutational meltdown (PLOS Biol 2021), mitochondrial “social networks” in plants, and how they adapt to challenges. Also check out her outreach site about mitochondrial motion in plants! She went on to a postdoc in Nebraska.

Ryan Kerr
Ryan was a PhD candidate funded by the Wellcome Trust. He worked on how cell decisions lead to antimicrobial resistance behaviour, and the role of intracellular energy levels in shaping these decisions, using a combination of microbiology, microscopy, and mathematical modelling. Ryan’s papers with the group include how energy affects cellular decisions and how energy affects efflux pumps. He went on to work in data science.

Clare Ziegler
Clare was a PhD candidate funded by the Birmingham Institute for Forest Research (BIFoR). She worked on using mathematical modelling and statistical approaches to identify the mechanisms governing plant root growth in complex environments and in response to climate change. Clare’s papers with the group include: Inference for root architecture (Interface 2019) and tree root behaviour under elevated CO2. She went on to work in data science.

Marcus Moen
Marcus joined us as a project student, following a bachelor’s degree in statistics and data science from the University of Bergen. He did his bachelor thesis with Iain, where he worked on comparing HyperTraPS with hidden Markov models. After the thesis, he started working with the group with adopting and implementing the Baum-Welch algorithm to evolutionary and progressive dynamics on hypercubic transition graphs, publishing (HyperHMM. He secured a prestigious Aker Scholarship and went on to further study at Berkeley.

Charlotte Bowles
Charlotte was a MSc student working on stochastic modelling of mitochondrial fission and fusion, and how these physical processes couple to the genetic structure of cellular mtDNA populations. Charlotte’s papers with the group include: Mitochondrial networks and mtDNA dynamics (Genetics 2019). She went on to work in the charity sector.

Yusra Monem
Yusra was a MSc student working on the structure of mitochondrial networks.

Peipei Wang
Peipei was a MSc student working on metabolic modelling of plant bioenergetics.

Yawen Chen
Yawen was a MSc student working on mitochondrial motion in plant cells.

Sam Arrowsmith
Sam was a MSc student working on the genetic content of mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes and their relationship with nuclear-encoded organelle genes.

Yi Ren
Yi was a MSc student working on organelle gene content and the features that predict genes’ retention in organelle genomes.