Info
Manal Adda
Work address
Biosystems Data Analysis, University of Amsterdam
Room C2.202, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam
Email: m.adda2@uva.nl
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5331-4731
Professional Career
Manal Adda completed her high school diploma in mathematical sciences at Pedagogical Group Alpha in Morocco in 2018. Following this achievement, she relocated to France to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Strasbourg. During her studies, she was introduced to the field of Bioinformatics, which inspired her to continue her education with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology and High Throughput Analysis at the Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS) after earning her BSc in 2022. Throughout her academic journey, Manal engaged in various projects that deepened her interest in computational biology. Notably, she contributed to the development of a comprehensive database for mutations in Androgen Receptors. Additionally, she created a Deep Learning Algorithm designed to predict cell cycle phases from raw single-cell RNA sequencing data derived from embryonic mouse stem cells
at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC). For her master’s thesis, Manal focused on optimizing the gradient in Liquid Chromatography for proteomics applications through a genetic algorithm approach at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), resulting in her obtaining an MSc degree from the University of Strasbourg in September 2024. As of January 2025, she has embarked on her PhD journey within the Biosystems Data Analysis group, with the objective of developing and promoting bioinformatics tools that provide insights into the human microbiome, particularly in relation to its interactions with the human immune system.
Research
As research progresses, it is becoming increasingly clear that the microbiome functions as an active participant in the immune system rather than a mere collection of microorganisms. It influences various processes, including inflammation and the risk of autoimmune disorders. Given this context, Manal’s research goal is to create bioinformatics tools designed to clarify the interactions between the microbiome and the immune system. She specifically aims to identify and quantify metagenomic regions that encode proteins or domains related to immune functions. By applying these insights to research on infants, autoimmune diseases, and immunotherapy, Manal seeks to deepen our understanding of how microbial communities affect immune function and contribute to disease development.