Céline Stoffel
Céline Stoffel, originally from Ticino, studied biology at the University of Lausanne. She earned a master’s degree in behavior, evolution, and conservation there in 2011; her thesis focused on population genetics in hippos.
Since 2021, she has been working in the zoology department at the Naturéum as a laboratory scientist, where she leads and carries out the genetic components of research projects. Céline regularly develops and adapts new methods and trains Swiss and international researchers in laboratory techniques. In addition, she is responsible for the maintenance and monitoring of the collections. Through her work, she contributes to the museum’s reputation in its mission to understand and preserve biodiversity.
In addition to her duties at the museum, Céline works at the University of Lausanne in Professor Luca Fumagalli’s research group. She specializes in non-invasive methods, which allow for the genetic analysis of samples collected without direct contact with the animal (hairs, urine, etc.) or of environmental DNA—DNA fragments left behind by organisms in water, soil, or air. For these analyses, she relies in particular on next-generation sequencing (NGS). In this capacity, she contributes to genetic analyses of wolves in Switzerland, providing valuable data to the federal government to assist in the monitoring and management of this species. This expertise, developed at the university, thus directly strengthens the Naturéum’s scientific projects.