PhD student Florian Neugebauer studies shell formation in Littorina snails
Florian Neugebauer recently started his PhD position at the Department of Marine Sciences. He will study speciation at the molecular level, using Littorina snails as a model. Florians last place of residence is Osaka in Japan. The new workplace at Tjärnö Marine Laboratory involves a major change, but Florian finds Tjärnö an exciting place to work and appreciates the beautiful nature.
What are you going to do here?
"In my research I use modern comparative genomics techniques to study differences in genetic regulation between two ecotypes of the rough periwinkle Littorina saxatilis. I am especially interested in the development and formation of the shell. Studying ecotypes can help us learn about speciation on a molecular level."
What did you do before?
"I come from a small town near Zurich in Switzerland. Before moving to Sweden, I did my master at the University of Osaka in Japan. My master thesis is about genetic regulation and developmental cell biology and, more specifically, how left-right asymmetry forms in the gut of fruit flies Drosophila. Before that I spent four years in the UK, doing my Bachelor at the University of Plymouth."
What do you do when you are not working?
"I like to go skiing in winter and orienteering during summer. Orienteering is a fantastic sport where you run through the forest with a map. It's really fun, I highly recommend it! And I also really enjoy reading books."
Something else you would like to share?
"Moving from a large city like Osaka to a small place like Tjärnö is quite a change of pace, but the nature is really beautiful here and I get to meet a lot of researchers with diverse backgrounds which makes Tjärnö an exciting place to work. I feel incredibly fortunate to get to do science in such a nice environment."
Interview: Susanne Liljenström
