Leiden University

The Leiden University team is led by Prof. Ákos Kovács, who specializes in microbial physiology and multicellular behavior. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that coordinate bacterial communities and their adaptation to environmental changes. As part of the MicroClock project, the Leiden group investigates how circadian regulation affects microbial systems and their collective behavior.

Ákos Kovács

Principal Investigator

Prof. Ákos Kovács leads the Leiden University team within the MicroClock project. His lab investigates the growth and development of Bacillus subtilis, focusing on how this plant-associated bacterium forms biofilms and interacts with microorganisms in the rhizosphere. Using molecular biology, transcriptomics, and eco-evolutionary approaches, the team explores how microbial timekeeping mechanisms influence biocontrol efficiency and ecological interactions.

📧 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
📞 +31 71 527 4384

Andrea Bernini

PhD Student

Andrea Bernini is a PhD candidate with a background in molecular microbiology, genetic engineering and fluorescence microscopy. He has research experience in bacterial biofilm formation and fungal biotechnology.

As part of the MicroClock project, he investigates spatio-temporal circadian gene expression and heterogeneity in Bacillus subtilis biofilms, using molecular biology and microscopy approaches.

M. Eugenia Goya

Senior Researcher

Eugenia Goya is a senior researcher with a strong background in circadian rhythms, neurodegeneration and host-microbiome interactions. Her doctoral research established a foundation in the molecular basis of circadian rhythmicity in C. elegans using advanced in vivo luminescence techniques. More recently, she has pioneered research into how the gut microbiota regulates protein homeostasis in Parkinson's disease.
As part of this work, she identified a probiotic B. subtilis strain that significantly mitigates toxic protein aggregation in C. elegans models, extends the host lifespan, and improves healthspan.

Eugenia brings a unique set of expertise to the MICROCLOCK project, and she will apply it to study the complex crosstalk between bacterial and animal circadian clocks. She aims to determine how these inter-kingdom interactions dictate host health and disease progression.

Romain Avellan

Postdoctoral Researcher

Romain Avellan is a postdoctoral researcher with a background in microbiology and host–pathogen interactions. His previous work focused on bacterial virulence and antimicrobial resistance, employing macrophage infection models, molecular genetics, high-resolution microscopy, and data analysis. He has extensive experience studying the molecular mechanisms that drive infection dynamics.

As part of the MICROCLOCK project, Romain investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms in Bacillus subtilis. His research aims to uncover the genetic and regulatory components of the bacterial circadian clock through genome-wide genetic screening and molecular biology approaches.

Martha Carolina Elizondo Cantú

Postdoctoral Researcher

Carolina Elizondo is a postdoctoral researcher with a background in microbiology, focused on biofilm formation and sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. During her PhD, she explored the concept of bacteria as multicellular microorganisms, developing microscopy and genetic engineering approaches that, combined with computer vision, enable quantitative analysis of multicellular development and the emergent properties that may confer functions to the organisms in an ecological context.

As part of the MicroClock project, she focuses on uncovering interactions between plant and bacterial clocks, using microfluidics to follow circadian gene expression in Bacillus subtilis and Arabidopsis thaliana.

Jitske Van Welsen

PhD Student

Jitske van Welsen is a PhD candidate with a background in molecular genetics and biotechnology. She has research experience in microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, and molecular plant biology.

As part of the MicroClock project, she investigates the molecular mechanisms of the Bacillus subtilis circadian clock during interaction with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, using molecular biology and microscopy approaches.