Team

Isa Blasco Costa

Research leader

I am interested in parasites of wildlife, mainly in relation to aquatic systems. My research goals are to uncover the biodiversity of flatworms and understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that have led to this parasite biodiversity and host-parasite associations. This research generates fundamental knowledge at the intersection between parasite ecology and evolution. Since I arrived to the Natural History Museum of Geneva in Switzerland in 2014, I have also been actively involved in transmitting the value of science and parasites to society. Over the years, I had the chance to meet and work with great researchers and amazing people to whom I feel deeply indebted for all I learnt from them. I am a keen supporter of a culture of scientific exchange and work-life balance in academia.

Eloïse Rochat

PhD student

I am from Switzerland and France, I did a BSc in Organism and Population Biology at the University of Lyon 1 (in France), a MSc in Biodiversity and Systematics at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and a PhD in Ecology at the Arctic University of Norway  in Tromsø (UiT). During my studies, I got very interested in fish metazoan parasites and conducted all of my research at the Natural History Museum of Geneva. My MSc thesis focused on the influence of the stream water source and trout migration rate on the parasite community of young non-migratory brown trout. After my master, I worked on a collaboration at the University Canberra, in Australia, where I examined the parasite community of several native freshwater fish. For my PhD, Iworked on the impacts of multiple stressors on fish-parasite interactions under the supervision of Rune Knudsen (Arctic University of Norway), Isabel Blasco Costa (Natural History Museum of Geneva and Arctic University of Norway) and Rachel Paterson (Norwegian Institute for Nature Research). Now I am lab manager on the EU Biodiversa+ project IMPACT, assessing parasites diversity in European freshwater fishes.

Mar Llaberia-Robledillo

PhD student

I am from Catalonia, Spain. I did a degree in Marine Sciences at the University of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Evolution at University of Valencia. Throughout those years, I developed a strong interest in genetics, and eventually, in evolution and the changes in the structure of natural populations. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to conduct research on these topics in my master’s thesis, which focused on changes in the population structure of a host-parasite system in its original distribution area and an invaded area. Now, in my PhD, I am investigating the processes that trigger genomic divergence of hosts and parasites, combining micro- and macroevolutionary approaches. I work mainly with genome-wide data, I perform genome assemblies, analysis of population genetic structure, and assess phylogenetic relationships. I love using bioinformatic tools to explore host-parasite relationships and species evolution. I am doing my PhD under the supervision of Isabel Blasco-Costa (Natural History Museum of Geneva), Juan Antonio Balbuena and Ignasi Lucas-Lledó (University of Valencia).

Mathias Colin

PhD student

I’m from France and I’m currently a PhD student in the ECOVO programme of the UniGE at the Natural History Museum of Geneva. I am working on the EU Biodiversa+ project IMPACT, Integrated monitoring of parasites in changing environments.

Sébastien Miche

Bioinformatician

I’m from Switzerland and I’m currently working as bioinformatician on the EU Biodiversa+ project IMPACT, Integrated monitoring of parasites in changing environments at the Natural History Museum of Geneva.