Benjamin Guinet is a early-career researcher in evolutionary biology who studies the relationships between hosts and their microbiomes, with a particular focus on viruses. His work spans different temporal and biological scales, from ancient microbial infections in extinct species to present-day host–microbe interactions.

He received his PhD at the University of Lyon in 2023, where he investigated the long-term coevolution between viruses and parasitoid wasps, focusing on processes of viral endogenization and domestication. After completing his PhD, Benjamin joined the Centre for Palaeogenetics and the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, where he spent two years working on paleomicrobiology and studying interactions among bacteria, viruses, and mammoths.

Benjamin is currently pursuing his research at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) as a Junior Krupp Kolleg Fellow. His current project explores the evolution of the measles virus, from the pre-vaccine era to its modern diversity. Starting in 2026, he will continue his work through a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship, based primarily at KU Leuven in close collaboration with HIOH, within the Evolutionary and Computational Virology group. There, he will study the impact of vaccination on the evolution of the rinderpest virus leading up to its extinction.