Jillian is an expert on the diversity and ecology of chemosynthetic symbioses in lucinid clams and deep-sea invertebrates. She is a Young Investigator for the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (Wiener Wissenschafts-, Forschungs- und Technologiefonds). In 2018, she received an ERC starting grant from the European Research Council and was named as one of the leading international researchers of Austria. She established her independent research group at DOME (Division of Microbial Ecology) in Vienna where she got tenure in 2020.

Jillian has been very supportive for our research from beginning on. In 2018, she invited Laetitia to Vienna to discuss lucinid research and launch our collaborations. We have been doing fieldwork and research together, organized workshops, and from 2018-2021, we served together for the ISME Early Career Scientist Committee. Jillian represents a new generation of scientists that passionately stands for diversity, inclusion and collaboration in academia.