Biography

Judith Neukamm is currently finishing her PhD in Bioinformatics at the University of Tübingen.

She most recently worked as a research assistant at Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich.

Her research focuses on the analysis of the ancient metagenome, the investigation of genetic material obtained directly from samples without applying any capturing or enrichment methods. She’s interested in the ancient oral metagenome in particular, which provides a deeper insight into the microbial community that inhabits the human oral cavity. This work also covers the study of ancient pathogens and viruses, e.g. Mycobacterium leprae, especially how they have evolved and migrated.

Another focus of her research is the analysis of human mitochondrial DNA, which is often used in population genetics. This project involves the development and implementation of a mitochondrial workbench with a focus on the easy handling and conversion of files. Furthermore, it offers the possibility to combine, manipulate and visualize mitochondrial data. It also provides basic downstream analysis, e.g. PCA, FST and haplogroup determination. This workbench also provides access to a database containing public complete human mitochondrial genomes including metainformation.

She began her studies in Tübingen, where she received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Bioinformatics, while also studying abroad at the University of Uppsala during her Masters.