Fabio Palmieri
PhD student
Office A223
Phone: +41 32 718 22 64
Research interests
My research interests are in the field of microbial ecology, going from soil to the plant, animal and human hosts. I’m really interested in studying and understanding the interactions between microbes and their environments and with each other. During my Master project, I had the opportunity to study endospore-forming bacteria in a volcanic site in Greece (Nisyros Island) by both culturable and un-culturable methods and thus to evaluate the role of endospore-formation as a survival strategy to the changing environmental conditions in these habitats. For my PhD thesis, I am interested on Bacterial-Fungal Interactions in the context of human health and how we can use bacteria as biocontrol agents against fungal pathogens.
Education
- Oct. 2016 – Present PhD in Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
- 2014 – 2016 Master of Science in Biology, Specialization: Ecology and environment, Evolution and biodiversity, Grade cum laude, University of Neuchâtel.
- 2011 – 2014 Bachelor of Science in Biology, Grade cum laude, University of Neuchâtel.
Research experiences
- Oct. 2016 – Present PhD Thesis, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
“Oxalotrophy as a therapeutic alternative for the control of fungal pathogens”
Supervisor: Prof. Pilar Junier
- Jan. – July 2019 Visiting Research Scholar, Host and Pathogen Biology Lab, Biosecurity and Public Health, Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA.
“Bacterial Oxalotrophy as a Biological Mechanism to Control Aspergillosis in a Lung-on-a-Chip System”
Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Foster Harris, Dr. Patrick S. G. Chain
- April 2015 – Aug. 2016 Master thesis, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
“To Sporulate or not to Sporulate: Prevalence of Endospore-Forming Firmicutes along a Thermal Gradient in Alexandros Crater (Nisyros, Greece)”
Supervisors: Prof. Pilar Junier, Dr. Sevasti Filippidou.
- Jan. – Feb. 2015 Internship, Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology (LBE), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL).
“Effect of the molecular chaperone PceT on the heterologous production of the reductive dehalogenase PceA”.
Supervisor: Dr. Julien Maillard.
- Sept. – Dec. 2014 Internship, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
Internship project within the project BIOPATINA.
Teaching experiences
- Sep. – Déc. 2019 PhD Assistant for the practicals in microbiology for the 2nd year biology students, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
- Sep. – Dec. 2018 PhD Assistant for the practicals in bacteriology and mycology for the 2nd year biology students, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
- Feb. – March 2018 PhD Assistant for the Problem-based learning in Microbiology for the 3rd year biology students, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
- Nov. – Dec. 2017 PhD Assistant for the practicals in bacteriology for the 2nd year biology students, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
- Feb. – March 2017 PhD Assistant for the Problem-based learning in Microbiology for the 3rd year biology students, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
- Sept. – Dec. 2016 PhD Assistant for the practicals in bacteriology for the 2nd year biology students and for the practicals of Bioinformatics tools for the Master’s students, Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
- Sept. – Oct. 2015 Student-Assistant for the practicals in molecular biology for the 3rd year biology students (24 hours), Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
- Sept. – Oct. 2014 Student-Assistant for the practicals in molecular biology for the 3rd year biology students (24 hours), Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Neuchâtel.
Publications
(* equal contributions of the authors)
1. Sevasti Filippidou, Marion Jaussi, Thomas Junier, Tina Wunderlin, Nicole Jeanneret, Fabio Palmieri, Ilona Palmieri, et al. 2016. “Anoxybacillus geothermalis Sp. Nov., a Facultatively Anaerobic, Endospore-Forming Bacterium Isolated from Mineral Deposits in a Geothermal Station.” International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 66 (8). Microbiology Society: 2944–51. doi:10.1099/ijsem.0.001125.
2. Fabio Palmieri*, Aislinn Estoppey*, Geoffrey L. House, Andrea Lohberger, Saskia Bindschedler, Patrick S. G. Chain, Pilar Junier. 2019. "Oxalic Acid, a Molecule at the Crossroads of Bacterial-Fungal Interactions." Advances in Applied Microbiology. Vol. 106. 49-77. doi:10.1016/bs.aambs.2018.10.001.
3. Christophe Paul, Sevasti Filippidou, Isha Jamil, Wafa Kooli, Geoffrey House, Aislinn Estoppey , Mathilda Hayoz, Thomas Junier, Fabio Palmieri, Tina Wunderlin, Anael Lehmann, Saskia Bindschedler, Torsten Vennemann, Patrick S. G. Chain, Pilar Junier. 2019. "Bacterial Spores, from Ecology to Biotechnology." Advances in Applied Microbiology. Vol. 106. 79-111. doi:10.1016/bs.aambs.2018.10.002