In mid-July, a brand-new PhD emerged from the walls of our lab! After five years full of diverse projects and high-impact publications, Yiqi successfully wrapped up her PhD journey. Her thesis focused on the multi-omics characterization of virus–host interactions, and along the way she mastered a wide range of methods, including transcriptomics, proteomics, phosphoproteomics, metabolomics, and pulse-chase analysis of protein turnover. 

What turned out to be the bigger challenge—answering the committee’s toughest questions or solving the puzzles decorating her PhD hat—remains unclear. But what we do know is that she passed every test with dignity.

While Yiqi still has some exciting discoveries to finish in our lab, her colleagues are glad to keep their favorite event-maker around for another year. After that, she’s eager to continue her scientific adventures in Japan, catching up with the latest in bat virology.

We warmly congratulate Yiqi on her hard-earned degree and wish her every success in the future!

Text by Anastasiia, photos by Anqi