Dr. Patricia Sanches

Hi there! I'm Patricia, and I just finished my PhD with the Biocommunication Group at ETH Zurich.

During my PhD, I studied the fascinating—yet complex—interactions between aphids, their endobacterial partners, plant viruses, and parasitic wasps. Right now, I'm wrapping up a few exciting projects before exploring the mechanisms by which aphid endosymbionts influence plant virus transmission.

If you're curious about my PhD research, here is a summary of our most recent publication described in threads:

https://x.com/ptasanches/status/1728050938277986394

You can also check out some of my previous work with my former group in Brazil, where we explored diverse topics involving plant-insect interactions:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0qIgwbkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

When I'm not deep into my research, I'm a great deal about food and good company! I love exploring new culinary experiences in Switzerland and around the world. In the lab, I'm one of the dedicated scone bakers, trying hard to keep our colleagues’ tummies full with different scone recipes regularly—because, let's face it, cake can be an important fuel for great science! 😉 I have also taken the lead in organizing my labmates to design custom-made PhD hats for our graduates. You can see some of our creative work here:

I'm also really keen on plants, which makes me the main spreader of pancake plants on our floor, as well as the go-to plant caretaker. It might sound like an easy task, but we have quite green offices over here!

In my free time, I also enjoy traveling, trying to learn new languages (emphasis on trying), pet-sitting for friends, and spending quality time with family and friends.