Dr. Fidji Berio

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Fidji studied marine biology at the University of Bordeaux and the European Institute for Marine Studies in Brest (France). During her studies, she had projects on the behavior of the invasive crayfish related to hormonal signals, on biological successions in hydrothermal environments, and on the regionalization of the vertebral column of skates. She completed her PhD at the ENS de Lyon and University of Montpellier on Evo-Devo of mineralized structures in chondrichthyans. She used functional tests, 3D geometric morphometrics, and machine learning to quantify the intra- and interspecific diversity of teeth in catsharks and microCT and histology to assess the diversity of mineralization patterns in chondrichthyan vertebrae. She also collaborates with aquaria to get insights into the life-history traits of captive chimeras and their optimal breeding conditions. At Stockholm University, she works on the physiology of walking elasmobranchs, especially the energetic costs associated with the different locomotor behaviors of skates and sharks. When not in the lab, Fidji enjoys SCUBA diving, camping, music, and DIY.

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Website: https://fberio.github.io/
 

Researchers

Camille Morerod

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Camille grew up in a small mountain village called Les Diablerets in Switzerland. She received her B.Sc.  in Biology at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland and a Master in Marine Biology at Stockholm University. She has a very broad interest in marine ecosystems and how they change with climate change. She is a staff researcher in the lab, running  experiments and analyzing datasets. 

Graduate Students

Xuewei “Q” Qi

Marine Biology

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Q is from Beijing, China. Growing up as a “city mouse”, he gets overly excited when he sees any kind of animal. Q received his BSc in marine biology from the University of Liverpool (UK). Q is currently a MSc student in marine biology in the Di Santo Lab at Stockholm University. His thesis focuses on the effect of cyanobacteria exposure on fish locomotor performance. Q loves learning the life history of organisms, how they move, how they live or maybe even how they think? Yes, when all is said and done, he might just love filming fish during swimming. Besides biomechanics, Q enjoys hiking, Animal Crossing and struggling with learning Swedish. He is also a self-proclaimed watercolor artist.

Sarah Schmitz

Marine Biology

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Sarah is a masters student in Marine Biology at Stockholm University studying the effects of coral complexity loss on the hydrodynamics of reef fish. From a town called Elkton, Maryland in the United States, Sarah enjoyed spending time in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic ocean as a child, and never lost her love of water despite taking an indirect path to her current studies. As a member of the Linehan Artist Scholarship program at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Sarah earned a B.A. in Dance and a B.A. in Biological Sciences. She then worked in gene sequencing and analysis laboratory at a pharmaceutical CRO and taught evening dance lessons. Combining her love of the ocean, interest in biology, and concern about climate change into a desire to study the effects if anthropogenic factors on marine life, she decided to pursue marine biology, leading her to the Di Santo Lab. Sarah enjoys baking, dancing, and spending time outside hiking and swimming in her free time, and she aims to become a "real" marine biologist by becoming dive certified.

Chloe Marshall

Marine Biology

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Chloe is from Brighton, England, where her love of marine biology started from snorkeling as a child. This led her to receive her B.Sc. in Marine Biology from Swansea University (UK) where she developed an interest in marine animal physiology and their response to environmental change. She moved to Stockholm University to further pursue this through a master’s degree in Marine Biology. In the Di Santo Lab she is currently studying the impact of branching coral loss on the swimming kinematics of reef fish. In her spare time Chloe enjoys exploring the Swedish countryside, swimming, cycling, and of course, scuba diving!

Paula Schmitz

Biodiversity and Systematics

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During her bachelor degree, Paula transferred from Kiel, Germany, to Stockholm University. She is currently reading the NABIS (Nordic Academy of Biodiversity and Systematic Studies) program at Uppsala University. She is interested in the large diversity of fishes exhibiting walking behavior, and is currently working on her master's degree project in the Di Santo Lab looking the locomotion of mudskippers. Beside ichthyology, Paula has always had an interest in ornithology and is even testing the waters around entomology, currently starting to immensely enjoy the process of learning about the different insect groups. In her free time, she likes playing the piano, reading, hiking, and kayaking.

Sonia Marketaki

Marine Biology

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Sonia was born and raised in Crete (Greece), and she finished her B.Sc in Biology in the European University of Cyprus. Her interest in Marine Biology started early as she spent her life next to the sea, but it sparked especially during an internship where she focused on seagrass and polychaetes ecology. To continue her marine interests she decided to move to Stockholm and study marine biology. Her thesis in the Di Santo Lab focuses on maneuvering in blind cavefish.
In her free time she likes to play the piano, read books and hike in nature.