Interview with new group leader Guillaume Diss

April 8, 2019 Guillaume Diss joined the FMI as a new Quantitative Biology group leader on March 1. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms whereby genetic variation translates into phenotypic variation - for example, in diseases. We spoke to Guillaume to find out more about him and his research, and to hear about his first impressions of the FMI. Can you explain the focus of your research? - I've always been amazed by the complexity of a cell, and I want to better understand that complexity. How do these millions of molecules in a cell interact to make complex cellular processes work? I'm keen to learn more about this network of interactions that determines the phenotype of a cell, and how it evolved throughout evolution. The work of my group here at the FMI will therefore focus on understanding how genetic variation (mutation) leads to phenotypic variation through perturbation of molecular networks, and how mutations can act synergistically. To do this, using yeast as a model organism, we will combine quantitative genetics, biochemistry and systems biology approaches, together with modeling and computational biology, to develop quantitative and mechanistic models of mutation effects.