Anna-Sophie Fiston-Lavier

Anna-Sophie Fiston-Lavier is a Professor of Bioinformatics at the University of Montpellier's Institute of Evolutionary Sciences (ISEM), affiliated with the Phylogeny and Molecular Evolution team. She holds multiple leadership positions including President of the French Society of Bioinformatics (SFBI), Co-head of the Bioinformatics Learning Lab (BILL), Associate Editor at Bioinformatics Advances, and Junior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France.

Education:

• PhD in Genomics, Pierre and Marie Curie University (Sorbonne University), 2004-2008
• Master's degree in Genetics, Pierre and Marie Curie University, 2003-2004
• Licence degree in Bioinformatics, Université Denis Diderot/Paris 7, 2002-2003

Her research focuses on transposable elements (TEs) and their impact on genome evolution, combining computational biology with experimental approaches. Key areas include: TE dynamics in insect genomes, development of bioinformatics tools for high-throughput sequencing analysis, and understanding adaptation mechanisms through population genomics. She maintains strong interests in evaluating emerging sequencing technologies and their applications in evolutionary biology.

Her publications in journals like Nature Communications, Genome Research, and Bioinformatics demonstrate expertise in genomics, computational biology, and evolutionary theory, with consistent focus on transposable element behavior and genome architecture across diverse organisms.

Awards and honors:

• Junior member, Institut Universitaire de France (2021)
• Huck Life Science Fellow, Penn State University (2023)

Research funding and grants:

• ANR FunAdapt (2023-2027): Fungal pathogen adaptation (Co-Task Leader)
• CNRS MITI (2024-2026): Aedes aegypti mosquito evolution (PI)
• IUF Fellowship (2021-2026)
• BILL2.0 Educational Project (2025)
• ANR NeGa (2020-2026): Population size impact on genome architecture
• Labex CEMEB D-Range Project (2017-2020)

She currently advises 2 PhD candidates and 4 master students, and has supervised over 30 trainees including PhDs and post-docs. She actively recruits post-doctoral researchers for her team.

She leads research within the Phylogeny and Molecular Evolution team at ISEM, focusing on computational genomics and evolutionary biology. Her laboratory develops innovative bioinformatics approaches to study genome evolution and adaptation processes.