Nicolas is a biologist by training and obtained his bachelor’s degree (2019) at the Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz where he characterized the chemical profile of neotropical ants using a GC-MS-based analysis. He completed his master’s degree at the University of Cologne (2022) conducting an untargeted LC-MS approach to identify a metabolite crucial for a predator-prey interaction in the freshwater system. Throughout his studies, he sharpened his understanding for good laboratory practice and clinically relevant research in internships and jobs at institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism (Cologne) or BioNTech (Mainz). During his master project, he developed a strong interest in the field of metabolomics.
For his PhD project, he will utilize an LC-MS-based quantitative lipidomics approach – which was recently developed at the UNIL Metabolomics Platform – for a longitudinal profiling of a healthy cohort of the Lausanne population (CoLaus). He will evaluate age-mediated changes in the lipid and steroid composition and, by using Mendelian Randomization, evaluate the causality between measured metabolites and complex health outcomes. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Julijana Ivanisevic (UNIL, Metabolomics Platform) and Prof. Pedro Marques-Vidal (CHUV, CoLaus).