Theda Bartolomaeus

Theda Ulrike Patricia Bartolomaeus is a nutritional chemist and PhD candidate at the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint facility of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and Charité  – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
Her research focuses on studying host-microbiome interactions in cardiometabolic diseases in the the research group of Dr. Sofia Forslund.
The research group studies the interaction between us and our microbes. After all, the microbiome, i.e. the totality of microorganisms that colonize the human body, has a significant influence on our well-being. The goal of the research group is to create data-based models that show how the human host and the microbiome develop together under different conditions toward health or disease.
In her master´s thesis in the Forslund research group, she analyzed various methods for collecting and processing stool samples for metagenomic analysis and looked at the effects of lifestyle (meat consumption) on intestinal microbiomes.
As part of her PhD, she is investigating various aspects of the microbiome and the influence of diet, antibiotics, lifestyle, and disease patterns on bacteria in areas such as saliva, lung, intestine, and vagina. The main focus of her PhD project is to apply qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the microbiome. The goal is to gain insight into the factors that contribute to the variability of the microbiome in order to investigate differences within the population and effects of clinical, lifestyle, and dietary factors.
She is personally interested in expanding knowledge of sample analysis and handling to other areas of research in the microbiome. As a scientist who is also committed to maintaining a habitable planet, Theda Bartolomaeus plans to collect and analyze extensive microbiome data from soil, sediment, and marine samples. This will help to address various ecological questions, such as the extent to which climate change and extreme weather conditions affect microorganisms and their metabolic capacity. Given the critical role of microorganisms in the health of our planet, it is of utmost importance to understand the human and other mammalian microbiome and to map and model these ecosystems in soils, oceans and other ecological habitats worldwide.