
Dr. Silvia Gschwendtner
Head of the Working Group "Human Microbiomes" at the Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis"The human microbiome provides many functions which are essential for our health. A dysbiosis of our microbiome consequently triggers disease. Thus, it is of prime importance to identify keystone microbial taxa which determine the functionality of the microbiome and develop strategies to promote their activity."
"The human microbiome provides many functions which are essential for our health. A dysbiosis of our microbiome consequently triggers disease. Thus, it is of prime importance to identify keystone microbial taxa which determine the functionality of the microbiome and develop strategies to promote their activity."
Academic Pathway
Silvia Gschwendtner holds a diploma in Biology and a PhD in Natural Sciences.
She started her career as Research Fellow at Helmholtz Munich, followed by two years at the Technical University Munich. At that time she strongly focused on the analysis of consequences of the release of transgenic plants for the soil microbiome, including questions of horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance genes. Afterwards, she returned to Helmholtz Munich, focusing her work on the role of microbiomes in different environments and their impact on the development of diseases. Nowadays she is involved in major activities at Helmholtz Munich, where cohorts are used to assess drivers for health and disease. Silvia is responsible for the assessment of microbiomes in these studies.
Silvia has strong background in the molecular analysis of microbiomes using high throughput sequencing approaches: She established several bioinformatics pipelines, which help her to identify core microbiomes and keystone species based on the obtained sample materials.
Work and Expertise
Professional Background
Head of Working Group “Human Microbiomes” at COMI
Research Scientist at COMI
Publications
Read more2022 Scientific Article in Frontiers in Environmental Science
Microplastics in soil induce a new microbial habitat, with consequences for bulk soil microbiomes.
2022 Scientific Article in Frontiers in Microbiology
Dynamics of bacterial root endophytes of Malus domestica plants grown in field soils affected by apple replant disease.
2022 Scientific Article in Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences
Gradient studies reveal the true drivers of extreme life in the atacama desert.
2022 Scientific Article in Soil Biology & Biochemistry
Alder-induced stimulation of soil gross nitrogen turnover in a permafrost-affected peatland of Northeast China.
2022 Scientific Article in Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
Microbial dysbiosis in a mouse model of atopic dermatitis mimics shifts in human microbiome and correlates with the key pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-4, IL-33 and TSLP.
2022 Scientific Article in Allergy
Differential effects of lung inflammation on insulin resistance in humans and mice.
2020 Scientific Article in Phytobiomes Journal
Molecular barcoding reveals the genus Streptomyces as associated root endophytes of apple (Malus domestica) plants grown in soils affected by apple replant disease.
2020 Other: Opinion in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences