Carla Marie Fischer

I am a PhD student at the University of Copenhagen in the group of Mathias Middelboe, affiliated with the Danish Center for Hadal Research at SDU. My research focuses on viral ecology in the deep sea. During my PhD, I investigate the interactions between viruses and their bacterial hosts, with a particular focus on phage-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs). These genes can modulate host metabolism during infection, potentially altering nutrient cycling within microbial communities. By combining bioinformatics approaches, such as metagenomics, with laboratory experiments on phage-host systems in culture, I aim to understand how AMGs influence phage-host dynamics and impact biogeochemical cycles in the deep sea.