Fascinated by the diversity and ubiquity of bacteria, in my doctoral project I'm diving into the world of microbial ecology with a focus on Nomurabacteria, a mysterious group within the Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) found in freshwater ecosystems. These microbes have so far eluded cultivation, but I'm determined to shed light on their ecological roles and life strategies by using novel genomic techniques and long-term monitoring data from Lake Zurich microbiomes, along with implementing new cultivation strategies. I am also interested in uncovering their physiology and understanding how their genome evolved to be considered notably small even within the bacterial world.