Let's meet Jillian Petersen, microbial ecologist

The big challenge our research tackles is how different organisms cooperate to survive in the natural world. Cooperation, or ‘symbiosis’, is all around us. Every tree, bird, clam, worm - even humans - relies on beneficial communities of microorganisms to survive. Ecosystems from forests to coral reefs are built on a foundation of symbiotic interactions. We aim to understand how these cooperative partnerships evolved, how they function, and how they can be maintained or improved to support ecosystem and human health.

We use model organisms from the sea, including burrowing clams and seagrasses to investigate the details of these symbiotic interactions. We can keep our mini-ecosystems alive and happy in aquaria in the basement of our University Biology Building in central Vienna.

Vienna gave me the opportunity to build up my own independent research group and provided long-term career development perspectives as an assistant professor at the University of Vienna. The first grants that financed our research came from the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) and the European Research Council.

Three words: vibrant, international, and collaborative.

Behind every successful scientist is a network of supporting institutions, agencies, and services. The funding is the very first, as without funding, there is no research. I am proud that here in Austria we have an agency, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) that funds excellent basic research – if you have a great idea, you can apply for funding! Curiosity was the basis for so many world-changing discoveries, and this is an incredibly important resource for our society that does not exist everywhere. It’s certainly a great drawcard for Vienna and Austria.

I tell my incoming group members to be imaginative in their research plans, because there is basically no instrument, or no technique, that cannot be found or carried out in Vienna. There is top-notch infrastructure and expertise, concentrated in one outstanding city.

I love being able to cycle to work – even through the winter!

I was surprised by how well the city has managed to integrate green spaces. Although the minority have access to a private garden, I’ve had lots of lovely picnics in Vienna’s many beautiful and safe public green spaces. 

Be prepared that you will never want to leave!

Any Schanigarten (eating and drinking area on a sidewalk) on a sunny day. I’m from Australia; in the heat of summer, I am in my element.

… could I spend the best summer staycation.