Martina Poletti

Martina is a BBSRC DTP PhD student at the Eartlham Institute where in collaboration with the Quadram Institute, she focuses on understanding how Bifidobacteria modulate autophagy in the gut.

In her PhD project, Martina aims to combine computational and experimental approaches, including state-of-the-art organoid-based screening, to identify specific pathways through which Bifidobacteria modulate autophagy, and by this, influence intestinal homeostasis. Studying these microbe-host connections is essential to understand the mechanisms behind beneficial effects of commensal bacteria. 

Martina holds a BSc in Biotechnology from the University of Pavia (Italy) and an MSc in Molecular Nutrition and Toxicology from Wageningen University (Netherlands). Her passion for microbiology started when investigating S. aureus bacterial biofilms during a semester abroad at Aarhus University, Denmark. During her MSc thesis at Wageningen University, she used transcriptomics data and bioinformatics to study the effect of dark chocolate intake on cardiovascular disease. 

Martina is also passionate about making science accessible to all. She has herself worked as a scientific communicator for the European Food Information Council based in Brussels, where she collaborated on European projects focused on nutrition, health and sustainability.