Jessica Finck

Hi! My name is Jessica Finck, and I'm currently a PhD at the Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry at the University of Jena.

I'm a trained microbiologist with a background in theoretical ecology, molecular/environmental microbiology, and bioinformatics. I'm driven by my interest in microbial interaction ecology – particularly how metabolic flexibility might help microbes to overcome challenging environments via niche partitioning or specialization, but also how microbes are related to planetary health and climate change . 

During my master's I was particularly interested microbial niche differentiation. Nowadays, my prime interest lies in how different abiotic (i.e. drought, soil type) and biotic factors (i.e. plant diversity) influence the assembly and interaction networks of microbial communities in various soils, goig from temperate grasslands to tropical forests. 

During my time in Jena, I graduated in the BSc Biology (Ecology) program, and the MSc Evolution, Ecology & Systematics program, where I completed a joint curriculum with courses from the theoretical ecology and molecular microbiology. During this time I worked as a tutor at FSU Jena. As part of my PhD I work within the frameworks of the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory Project (ATTO) in Brazil, and the Jena Experiment in Germany. In retrospect, I looking particularly fondly at my time in Boston with the amazing Huttenhower group who helped broaden my expertise in genomic and multiomic analyses, and all its possibilities, which I am eager to integrate into my future work. 

Challenging myself in science, research,  and methods used has always been my credo. Feel free to reach out to me if you want to get in touch!