Carlotta decided to join our team for a Master’s thesis project in the MarMic program 2021/2022. She studied the evolution of nitrogen fixation in lucinid clams and did several experimental incubations of Ctena imbricatula and their bacterial symbionts from Guadeloupe. After completing her Master thesis, she decided to stay in our group for a Ph.D. project. Carlotta is co-mentored by Dr. Wiebke Mohr at the Biogeochemistry Department at the MPIMM and Prof. Oliver Gros at the Université des Antilles, Pointe-à-Pitre, in Guadeloupe.

For her Ph.D. project, Carlotta is writing a pipeline to analyze gene expression in lucinid hosts and their symbionts and she is using it to compare lucinid nitrogen cycling on both sides of the Isthmus of Panamá. Together with Dr. Bruno Hüttel and Dr. Benedict Yuen, she is also developing and testing a ribosomal depletion kit for a range of lucinid species and their bacterial symbionts. This kit will facilitate her gene expression projects. Together with Prof. Olivier Gros, Carlotta is studying seasonality in nitrogen fixation in Guadeloupe, including seagrass and mangrove habitats.

Carlotta brings people together and started some really nice collaborations. She has helped launching our research group and contributes hope, motivation, and strength.

Forming, storming, conforming, performing.