Olivia Mel-de-Fontenay Ghosh

Hello! I’m a postdoctoral fellow at the NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB), in Chicago, IL. I have a background in physics, and I am interested in applying rigorous quantitative frameworks to biological systems. Specifically, I am interested in ecological and evolutionary dynamics in microbial communities. In my PhD, I worked with Ben Good and Dmitri Petrov at Stanford University, where I studied evolution from a quantitative perspective, with a focus on finding low-dimensional structure in genotype-phenotype-fitness maps, using yeast as a model system. You can find a list of my publications here, and a full CV here.

In my PhD, I also worked on gaining a theoretical understanding of evolutionary dynamics in the human gut microbiome, accounting for spatial structure, as well as longer term evolutionary dynamics from a collection of natural yeast isolates.

I previously studied Physics at Columbia University and researched 2D materials and nanoelectronics. I grew up in San Diego, California. Outside the lab, I enjoy running, ceramics, and going up and down the lakeshore trail.