The Group

We are an interdisciplinary team who studies the origin and cycling of DNA in the environment. Using information contained in DNA sampled from the environment, we infer the distribution and consequences of changing biodiversity for global ecosystem functioning. 

Kristy Deiner

I am fascinated and humbled by biodiversity. I want to understand how it is generated and how to maintain it. Biodiversity spans genes to ecosystems and this requires interdisciplinary research that utilizes universal tools. For this reason, I have focused on developing and utilizing genetic and field methods to understand population dynamics, structure and diversity. My work has carried me to mountain top lakes, to coastal streams and tropical islands. I am fascinated with how interactions among species and the environment shape the distribution of biodiversity and find this research paramount in today's increasingly human dominated world.

Sabine Dürig

Administrative Assistant of Prof. Kristy Deiner

I am the organizer for the group. I keep us afloat by finding the solutions for all the management challenges and love to get past in can’t be done, to this is how we can do it! I even get to get out of the office and help with field work sometimes too!

Anish Kirtane

Since early childhood, I have had a deep connection with nature and the wilderness. I am driven by the urgency to act to conserve the natural world through innovations in science and technology. eDNA research fits perfectly to meet these goals. I enjoy the process of overcoming technical challenges with creative solutions. I have worked on eDNA projects focused on a diversity of organisms including: endangered bog turtles, freshwater mussels, commercially harvested fish species, invasive forest pests, and their biocontrol predators. My hobbies range from cooking and watercolor painting to distance running and bouldering.

Cátia Pereira

Biodiversity and the relationships among living organisms and their environment have always fascinated me. Using eDNA, which has revolutionised our ability to survey biodiversity, my research aims at understanding the ecological drivers that underly the spatial and temporal variation of biodiversity. I am particularly interested in aquatic environments and have used approaches ranging from experimental set ups of aquatic micro- and mesocosms to biodiversity monitoring, to explored how multi-trophic aquatic communities assemble, and how biodiversity, food webs and their associated ecosystem services are affected by the current global climate crisis, along environmental gradients and across scales.

David Dao

Passionate about the intersection of technology and the natural world, I explore machine learning systems to decipher and tackle the climate and biodiversity crises. My doctoral journey was an adventure into crafting sustainable incentives for data collection and learning. I'm deeply committed to ethical AI practices and initiated GainForest, a Swiss non-profit that collaborates with global communities, co-designing technology for environmental preservation.

Iris Struijk

I am a laboratory technician in the Deiner lab group. My role includes the maintenance of cleanliness and compliance in the designated clean laboratory. I come from a social science background, but am fascinated and passionate about the environment and biodiversity. I enjoy working with and helping people and I am super excited to do my very best to support the team in the clean lab.  

Meret Jucker

I am interested in the potential of environmental DNA (eDNA) as a powerful and rapidly evolving method for monitoring biodiversity in a time of rapid ecosystem change. The possibility of taking small, cost-effective sequencing devices into the field to generate real-time data is an exciting prospect for me. It increases the ease of access to generating data and creating scientific insights without depending on large laboratories that are often far from sampling sites. My role is to help develop and test methods for the XPRIZE Rainforest competition to survey as much rainforest biodiversity as possible in a designated area of tropical rainforest within 24 hours. While the focus of my work is on the XPRIZE, I am excited developing these methods for future easy use in a broader context and further afield, say in the Arctic.