Plants are sessile organisms, thus their survival relies crucially on genetic adaptation to their niche. New allelic combinations and mutations in each generation provide the raw material for adaptive evolution. In fact, the genetic variation available will determine the tempo and limits of evolution at a variety of time scales, ranging from local adaptation to speciation to entire species radiations.

One hallmark of adaptive evolution is that it often repeats itself in different localities and taxa, although the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are little understood. We are investigating parallel (=adaptive) evolution in the South African Cape, one of the regions with the greatest biodiversity on Earth. Within a Swiss NSF funded SINERGIA project involving the University of Fribourg, the WSL Zürich (CH), the University of Lausanne (CH) and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (UK), we aim at understanding the evolution of genomic diversity of plant radiations in a highly structured environment, using the latest toolbox of population genomics.

Short CV

2011-present	Postdoc in Christian Lexer's group, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
2007-2011	Postdoc in Cris Kuhlemeier's group, University of Berne, Switzerland
2003-2006	PhD in Beat Keller's group, University of Zürich, Switzerland
2002	Undergraduate exchange program Overseas at the University of Minnesota, United States
1997-2002	Undergraduate studies at the University of Bologna, Italy

Publications