Event Short Talks and Discussion: Microbiome Research meets Developmental Genomics
Press Release No. 52/2025
21 May 2025
Gilles Storelli and Lauren Saunders to share their research as part of the series “Bio(R)evolution – New Faces, New Ideas, New Horizons”
Microbiome research meets developmental genomics: In a joint event, Prof. Dr Gilles Storelli and Junior Professor Dr Lauren Saunders are set to present their current research, inviting both the academic specialist community and an interested non-university public to discuss possible societal impacts of their work. The two short talks, followed by a moderated panel discussion, are part of the series “Bio(R)evolution – New Faces, New Ideas, New Horizons.” With this series, the Faculty of Biosciences of Heidelberg University wants to give its newly appointed professors a platform to present their visionary research questions and, at the same time, highlight the relevance of Ruperto Carola’s basic research for coping with major societal challenges. The event will be held in English on 26 May 2025.
Prof. Storelli’s research focuses on the gut microbiome. At the Centre for Organismal Studies, his research group uses the fruit fly Drosophila as a model system to investigate the metabolic and nutritional interactions between gut bacteria and their hosts. In his talk, he will explain the role of gut microbiota in buffering environmental stress, and what this means for nutrition, juvenile growth and health. Gilles Storelli earned his doctorate in 2015 at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in France. He then worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City (USA), before leading a research group at the University of Cologne. In 2025, he was appointed Professor of Molecular Organismal Biology at Heidelberg University.
Prof. Lauren Saunders conducts research in developmental genomics. At the Centre for Organismal Studies, her research group explores how a cell’s developmental history influences its function in developing the embryo. Her work involving zebrafish and medaka aims to define principles of vertebrate evolution and adaptation. In her presentation, she will showcase research at the interface of developmental genetics, single cell omics, and lineage tracing. Lauren Saunders earned her doctorate in 2019 in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Washington in Seattle (USA). She continued her research in Seattle, before serving as a project leader at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. She went on to be appointed as a Tenure-Track Professor of Organismal Environmental Adaptation at Heidelberg University in 2024.
Featured in the “Bio(R)evolution – New Faces, New Ideas, New Horizons” series, the event “Microbiome Research meets Developmental Genomics” presents short talks by Prof. Storelli and Prof. Saunders, each 20 to 25 minutes in length. This will be followed by a moderated panel discussion addressing the broader societal implications of their research. This public event will take place on Monday, 26 May 2025, at 6 p.m. in the Bertalanffy Lecture Hall at the Centre for Organismal Studies, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230. There will be an opportunity for informal conversation afterwards.