I am an aspiring biologist with a special interest in microbes, the smallest organisms forming the basis of Earth’s (eco)systems. With a background in biochemistry, bioinformatics, and molecular biology in general, I have embarked to use my skillset to study the microbes in the wild, where they eveolve and interact in their full diversity. So far, I have focused my eco-evolutionary research on the impacts of salinity on bacteria and protists. Salt concentration, often claimed to be the primary microbial community structuring factor, forms barriers and gradients defining the major aquatic biomes - freshwater, brackish, and marine. We interested both at long-term evolutinary adaptations to different salinity regimes, as well as how present day spatiotempotal changes in salinity affect microbial communities and ecosystems they form.

Currently (August 2024) I am a PhD student at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SciLifeLab Stockholm. I have the pleasure and the honour to do my thesis under the supervision of Anders Andersson in the Environmental Genomics group (ENVGEN). My co-supervisors are Lukas Käll, with whom I teach Systems biology, and Maliheh Mehrshad, who is out close collaborator, my mentor, and a frequent host in her Bionomics Lab. My thesis is funded by the Swedish Research Council under a project focused on evolution and biogeography of the brackish microbiome (2021-05563_VR).

I love biology and chemistry, I adore math and physics. I do a lot of data science and bioinformatics; they allow me to research cool stuff. Take me for a walk, a hike, a run, or a swim, somewhere in nature where life flourishes, and I will be happy. Alternatively, give me a good book. And a cup of tea!

I understand my name is very hard to memorize, pronounce, or search for. I hope this website will make it easier to locate me. KTJ Microbes (ktjmicrobes.com), is all you have to remember to check me out from now on.