People

Dr. Pengjuan Zu 祖鹏娟(PI)

I am interested in understanding the evolutionary and ecological processes of the chemical communication between plants and insects by integrating concepts from biology, chemistry and information theory.

Assistant Professor, University of Neuchatel (2025 - )

Current position: SNSF PRIMA Group leader (2021 - )

2012 - 2017 PhD : University of Zurich, Switzerland

2009 - 2011 MSc : Uppsala University, Sweden

2005 - 2009 BSc : Beijing Normal University, China

Roberto Rebollo H.(PhD student)

My main interests are plant-insect interactions, chemical communication and community ecology. I conduct fieldwork in alpine meadows in eastern Switzerland, characterise the chemical traits of plants, and study how chemical traits shape interaction networks.

Dr. Yan Yang (Postdoc)

My research focuses on the chemical ecology and plant-insect interactions. I study the patterns and aim to understand the underlying processes of plant-insect communication in various habitats (e.g., Alpine grassland, tropical/subtropical forests, agricultural fields). I hope to bring new insights on plant-insect network and further contribute to biodiversity conservation and restoration practices.

Lea Stern (Bachelor student)

My bachelor thesis addresses the question about how flower nectar sugars of alpine grassland communities in Switzerland are influenced by the pollinators, their phylogenetic relationship and the environmental factor (altitude).

Past Students

Dominic Stalder (Master student, 2022)