Arnaud Didier (Master’s student)
Arnaud was a master’s student from the University of Montpellier who carried out his thesis project in The Mechanobiology Lab. He studied anisotropic growth and the mechanical properties of Arabidopsis hypocotyls during thermomorphogenesis, and he successfully linked dynamic cell wall modifications to rapid elongation. He worked in the lab from March to August 2024, then returned to France to complete his degree at the University of Montpellier.
Sebastian Poirier (Student assistant)
Sebastian was a bachelor student in biology at the University of Lausanne. He joined The Mechanobiology Lab as a student helper to assist with genetic screens on etiolated hypocotyls and gained practical experience in molecular biology. He worked in the lab from October 2023 to December 2023. He is now continuing his studies as a master student at the University of Neuchatel.
Yixuan Wang (Graduate Assistant)
Yixuan obtained her bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Yangzhou University in China. She then completed a master’s project in crop improvement at the University of Nottingham in the UK, followed by a second master’s degree in plant breeding and genetic resources at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. She joined The Mechanobiology Lab in March 2023 and worked in the group until March 2025.
Alice Perruchoud (Lab apprentice)
Alice was a lab apprentice who contributed to projects involving genetic screens and molecular biology work. She was involved in generating CRISPR mutants defective in cell wall modification. She joined The Mechanobiology Lab in February 2023 and stayed in the group until December 2023. She then continued her apprenticeship in the laboratory of Prof. Philippe Reymond.
Bejoy Manoj (Graduate Assistant)
Bejoy completed the BS-MS Dual Degree programme at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kerala. During his master’s studies he used an inducible CRISPR Cas9 system to investigate shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana. He joined The Mechanobiology Lab in October 2022 and worked in the group until September 2023.
Audran Feuvrier (Student assistant)
Audran studied biology at the University of Lausanne and joined the lab as an intern to gain practical laboratory experience. He worked on a reverse genetic screen and identified new factors involved in controlling anisotropic growth. He joined The Mechanobiology Lab in December 2022 and stayed in the group until August 2023. He is now a master’s student at ETH Zurich.
The Mechanobiology Lab 