Hello, my name is Nick Desnoyer and I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Ueli Grossniklaus at the University of Zürich. I have a passion for biology and love spending my time experimenting with plants, peering through the microscope, and reading scientific literature. In addition to research, I seek to communicate the beauty of plant science to the public through educational projects combining genetic engineering and live imaging. How did I get here? Below is a synopsis of my life story.
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I was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1995. As a kid, I liked to draw, float down the river, and run around my parents property in the countryside. In high-school my three most impactful courses were biology, graphic design, and video journaling. I remember getting my first biology textbook and being fascinated by the detailed diagrams in that book. These drawings held weight; each one was backed by science and held the instructions for life. Having spent a lot of time with digital design, I considered to one day become a scientific illustrator.
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After graduating high-school I moved to Tucson, Arizona where I did my bachelors in biology at the University of Arizona. In my third year, I became a biology tutor with Dr. Susan Jorstad, where my interest in teaching biology really crystalized. In my final year, I joined the lab of Dr. Ravi Palanivelu, who was an incredible mentor to me and encouraged me to continue studying plant molecular biology. Although I was accepted into various PhD programs, I decided to instead stay in Ravis lab for my masters and test out whether a PhD is for me. While writing my thesis, I read impressive papers on live imaging of plant reproduction from the groups of Ueli Grossniklaus and Tetsuya Higashiyama. After debating doing a PhD in Japan or Switzerland, I decided to join Uelis group in August 2019.
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Accepted into the Plant Biology PhD program at the University of Zürich, I flew across the pond ready for a new adventure! Working at the IPMB situated in the beautiful botanical gardens, I developed a passion for microscopy and plant development. Alongside my research, I began sharing this passion online, through a combination of live imaging and animation. In December 2023, I generated a pink Arabidopsis rose for a course which completely captivated my imagination. I could create art not only in the form of drawings or live imaging, but with real biological material in a relatively short period of time! A tribute to natures design and the dedicated work of thousands of scientists. I am convinced a flower is the ultimate subject for teaching concepts in biology and am diving head first into the abyss of literature on Arabidopsis flower development.


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Apart from science, I try to live life to its fullest! My heart is set free when I ride my adventure motorbike through the beautiful Alps of Switzerland. Besides that, I actually do not like to travel. Instead, I like to live in my bubble and build up myself and the relationships I have with people in my vicinity. In terms of building myself, I love pushing my limits in running, calisthenics, and tennis. I also like to get outside with friends and go on hikes, float trips, or play sports. When I am not getting active, there is nothing I appreciate more than some quiet alone time. During this time I like to lose myself in artistic endeavors (timelapse, graphic design, animation), breed my Arabidopsis roses, garden at home, or watch a good anime.
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