Our PhD students


Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics

Maximilian Dreer

Supervisor: Christa Schleper

Topic: Biofilm formation and transformation of Ammonia Oxidizing Archaea

Marina Monserrat Díez 

Supervisors: Christa Schleper & Melina Kerou

Topic: Exploring the effects of biological nitrification inhibitors in the soil microbial communities

Angus Hilts

Supervisor: Simon Rittmann

Topic: Metabolic networks in Methanothemobacter marburgensis for cell factory development

Walter Hofmann

Supervisor: Simon Rittmann 

Topic: Physiological and biotechnological characteristics of archaea for methane or bioplastics production

Anastasiia Padalko

Supervisor: Filipa Sousa

Topic: Metabolic traits prediction and validation in Archaea

Barbara Reischl

Supervisor: Simon Rittmann

Thesis topic: Physiological and biotechnological characteristics and application possibilities of archaeal co and pure cultures

ResearchGate

Hayk Palabikyan

Supervisor: Simon Rittmann

Topic: Converting carbon dioxide into bioplastics

ORCID     ResearchGate

Thomas Pribasnig

Supervisor: Christa Schleper

Topic: Energy and carbon metabolism of Nitrososphaeria

ORCID     Google Scholar

Nicole Catherina Krause

Supervisor: Silvia Bulgheresi

Topic: Chromosome organization and segregation in multicellular longitudinally dividing oral symbionts 

Val Karavaeva (they/he)

Supervisor: Filipa Sousa

Topic: Rings of life and where to find them: Evolution of Tetrapyrroles

ORCID     ResearchGate


Bio-Oceanography and Marine Biology

Marilena Heitger

Supervisor: Gerhard Herndl

Topic: Shedding light on dark ocean’s detrital particles: origin, composition and age

 

ResearchGate     Twitter

Michaela Berensmeier

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Topic: Paloenvironmental changes of a shallow-water ecosystem in the Northern Adriadic Sea: Development of the community composition and its taphonomy

Guillem Coll García

Supervisors: Gerhard Herndl, Ramon Rossello-Mora & Raffael Bosch

Topic: Bacterial Adaptation to High Salinity 

Tina Palme

Supervisor: Petra Heinz

Topic: Laboratory feeding experiments of benthic foraminifera with a focus on their role in carbon and nitrogen fluxes

ResearchGate     Twitter

Alexandra Haselmair

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Topic: Historical ecology of the northern Adriatic sea: Spatial and temporal distribution of the high biomass epifauna

Angelina Ivkic

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Topic: Red Sea coral reefs: A Pleistocene - Recent comparison

Isabella Leonhard

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin


Topic: Survival of the smallest? The long-term impact of climate warming on the body size of non-commercial fishes in the Adriatic Sea

ResearchGate

Giulia Marchioro

Supervisors: Luise Kruckenhauser, Pedro Frade, Igor Adameyko, Cecilia D'Angelo

Topic: Functional diversity of coral fluorescent proteins in mesophotic reefs


ResearchGate

Philipp Pröts

Supervisor: Jörg Ott


Topic:
Morphological adaptations to the symbiotic life-style of Stilbonematinae (Desmodoroidea, Nematoda)

ORCID     ResearchGate     Twitter 

Daniel Martinovic Saavedra

Supervisor: Federico Baltar

Topic: The role of enzyme promiscuity on organic phosphorus cycling in the ocean

Sebastian Valerio Aymerich

Supervisor: Monika Bright

Topic: Dynamics of the Giant Ciliate Symbiosis: An Omics Study


ResearchGate

Teresa Maria Rosa Winter

Supervisor: Monika Bright

Topic: Ecology of Zoothamnium assemblages on experimental shallow water wood falls

ResearchGate

Dmytro Spriahailo

Supervisors: Gerhard Herndl, Thomas Reinthaler

Topic: Diversity and metabolic activity of bacteria in the sea-surface microlayer

ResearchGate


Environmental Change and Biodiversity

Michaela Berensmeier

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Topic: Paloenvironmental changes of a shallow-water ecosystem in the Northern Adriadic Sea: Development of the community composition and its taphonomy

Johannes Hausharter

Supervisor: Stefan Dullinger

Topic: The role of micro-climate and micro-environment for population dynamics of alpine plants

Tobias Schernhammer

Supervisors: Franz Essl, Bernd Lenzer

Topic: Bridging the gap between population genetics and historic landscape ecology for large Branchiopods 

Jennifer Hennenfeind

Supervisors: Franz Essl, Bernd Lenzner

Topic: Climate change and biodiversity loss as drivers for human conflicts

Florian Danzinger

Supervisors: Stefan Dullinger, Thomas Wrbka

Topic: A safe operating space for agricultural landscapes: integrating green infrastructure, ecological restoration and stakeholder involvement

ORCID     ResearchGate     LinkedIn

Norbert Helm

Supervisors: Stefan Dullinger, Karl Hülber, Dietmar Moser, Johannes Wessely

Topic: Linking the micro- with the macroscale in alpine plant ecology



ResearchGate

Alexandra Haselmair

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Topic: Historical ecology of the northern Adriatic sea: spatial and temoral distribution of the high biomass epifauna

Ekin Kaplan

Supervisor: Franz Essl

Topic: Temporal Changes and underlying Drivers of the Richness and Composition of Eu-rope’s Native and Non-Native Flora

Chytrý Kryštof

Supervisor: Stefan Dullinger

Topic: Effects of microclimate on distribution patterns of high alpine flora

ORCID     ResearchGate     Twitter

Elias Nikolas Kapitany

Supervisor: Stefan Dullinger

Topic: Semi-natural grasslands in Europe: Regional conservation value, recent development trends and drivers

Rym S. Nouioua

Supervisor: Stefan Dullinger, Bea Maas

Topic: Birds, bats and related ecosystem services in a European land-use context: linking conservation knowledge, agricultural practices and socio-ecological perspectives

Ana Isabel Martinez Richart

Supervisors: Franz Essl, Jana Petermann

Topic: Landscape connectivity in forests.  A multi-taxa case study on stepping stones between the Dürrenstein-Lassingtal Wilderness Area, and the Kalkalpen and Gesäuse National Parks, Austria

Parvin Safiyan Böldaji

Supervisor: Stefan Dullinger

Topic: Habitat suitability of the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and its primary prey species in north-eastern Iran

Clemens Pachschwöll

Supervisor: Franz Essl

Topic: Detecting ‘invaders in disguise’  DNA barcoding of invasive plant species in Austria

Sonia Rashid

Supervisor: Stefan Dullinger

Topic: Modelling climate-driven range changes of European butterflies and their host plants - do transient dynamics matter? 

Pablo Aycart Lazo

Supervisors: Bea Maas, Stefan Dullinger

Topic: Functional diversity and interactions of birds, bats and arthropods in tropical cacao agroforestry systems: linking biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service management

 

 

Anna Schertler

Supervisor: Franz Essl

Topic: Macroecological perspectives in invasion biology –  examining drivers of fungal and plant invasion patterns and processes


ORCID     ResearchGate

Tom Vorstenbosch

Supervisors: Stefan Dullinger, Franz Essl

Topic: Modelling the future of biological invasions in the sub-Antarctic under climate change

Gilles Colling

Supervisors:  Franz Essl, Stefan Dullinger, Michael Glaser, Hanno Seebens, Bernd Lenzner

Topic: Alien Species Accumulation Across Scales (ASAAS) 


Evolutionary Anthropology

Jeannette Becker

Supervisor: Sylvia Kirchengast

Topic: Comparative analysis of respiratory health during the medieval period in Austria

ResearchGate

Leo Capari

Supervisor: Harald Wilfing

Topic: Anatomy of challenge driven R&I: The cases of energy transition and demographic change

Aigerim Rymbekova

Supervisor: Martin Kuhlwilm

Topic:  Reconstructing the genetic history of Central Eurasia

Tobias Göllner

Supervisors: Martin Fieder, Helmut Schaschl

Topic: The Peopling of Asia: Genetic Ancestry, Population Structure, Demography and Natural Selection

ORCID     Google Scholar

Sonja Kuderer

Supervisors: Martin Fieder, Sylvia Kirchengast

Topic: An interdisciplinary approach: the co-evolution of handedness, sensation seeking and anxiety

Savannah Schaufler

Supervisors: Harald Wilfing, Tatiana Konrad

Topic: Sustainability Reset: Questions of Behavioral and Cultural Changes Revealed by COVID-19

ORCID     ResearchGate

Katarina Matiasek

Supervisor: Harald Wilfing


Topic: Incorporations. Stereo Photography in Anthropology

Michelle Hämmerle

Supervisors: Martin Kuhlwilm & Pere Gelabert Xirinachs

Topic: Social Genomics in Late Antique and Early Medieval Societies

ORCID

Inga Stolbovaya

Supervisors: Fred Bookstein, Gerhard Weber

Topic: 3D morphometric analysis of the human cranium for the investigation of posterior discrepancy

Constanze Hedwig Schattke

Supervisors: Harald Wilfing, Sabine Eggers

Topic: Witnesses of Violence? Combining Bioarchaeology and Provenance to research violence in the acquisition contexts of human remains in the Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna from 1857 – 1935

ResearchGate     Twitter

Emily Pigott


Supervisor:
Thomas Higham

Topic: Re-assessing human and faunal remains from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic archaeological sites within the Crimean Peninsula, using more recent protocols of radiocarbon dating

Magdalena T. Srienc-Ściesiek

Supervisors: Sylvia Kirchengast, Sabine Ladstätter

Topic: Lifeways of the early medieval Slavs: A bioarchaeological examination of diet and health based on the human remains from three cemeteries north and south of the Karawanken Mountains


ORCID
    ResearchGate

Thomas Beard

Supervisor: Mareike Stahlschmidt

Topic: Providing (micro)context for Sediment DNA at Pleistocene Archaeological Sites

Elöd Úry

Supervisor: Gerhard Weber

Topic: A 4D study of the mandibular guiding system: An integrated geometric morphometric approach 

Paul Klostermann

Supervisor: Sabine Eggers

Topic: Adolescence in the Early Medieval Age. A Bioarchaeological Analysis of Pubertal Timing in Central Europe.

ResearchGate     Webpage

Heather Chamberlain-Irwin

Supervisors: Ron Pinhasi, Andrew Somerville (Iowa State University)

Topic: Using Ancient Crop DNA to investigate Socio-Political Changes

 

ResearchGate

Konstantina Cheshmedzhieva

Supervisors: Katerina Douka, Martin Kuhlwilm

Topic: Bone and sediment paleogenetics and paleoproteomics for mapping Denisovan presence in Southeast Asia and Oceania

Liesa Geppner


Supervisors:
Maja Henjakovic, Harald Wilfing

Topic: Micro- and nanoplastic: Methodology for extraction and detection of plastic particles from human blood and mammalian tissue.

Arne Bielke

Supervisors: Elmira Mohandesan, Katrin Schäfer 

Topic: Genome-wide Genetic Diversity, Ancestry and Inbreeding in New Zealand Feral Kaimanawa Horses 


ORCID     ResearchGate     
Google Scholar


Evolutionary Zoology and Palaeobiology

Arnaud Begat

Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet

Topic: Mesozoic elasmobranch fish (sharks, skates, and rays) ecology and diversity patterns before extinction events

 

 

Claudia Klimpfinger

Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet

Topic: Labial Cartilages in Sharks - an Anatomical Analysis of Present and Past Species

ResearchGate

Alice Frisinghelli

Supervisor: Tim Wollesen

Topic: Mesoderm and Coelom formation in the arrow worm Spadella cephalopthera

Manuel A. Staggl

Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet

Topic: Drivers of Elasmobranch Diversity in Deep Time

ORCID     ResearchGate

Julian Bibermair

Supervisor: Thomas Schwaha

Topic: Evolution of phylactolaemate bryozoans

ORCID     ResearchGate     Twitter

Katharina Mason

Supervisor: Elisabeth Haring

Topic: When genetics contradicts morphology: How does this affect our species concepts? 

Cristian Camilo Barrera Grijalba

Supervisor: Tim Wollesen

Topic: The adhesion system of Spadella cephaloptera

June Feliciano Fronda Ordonez

Supervisor: Tim Wollesen

Topic: Neuronal cell type development in the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera

Anna-Maria Sabine Salgado-Gschwandner

Supervisor: Robert Ptacnik

Topic: Remoteness and size as determinants of Lake Ecosystem stability (RemoLake) 

Iris Fischer

Supervisor: Elisabeth Haring

Topic: Ecological status of aquatic habitats in Vienna: critical comparison of classical monitoring and molecular genetic methods to assess species distribution and composition of the dragonfly fauna

Sophie Greistorfer

Supervisor: Gerhard Steiner

Topic: Glowing mucus; Characterisation of the unique defence secretion of Latia neritoides (Gastropoda)

Mildred Jessica Johnson

Supervisor: Thomas Schwaha

Topic: The life cycle and systematics of the boring ctenostome bryozoan families Immergentiidae and Spathiporidae 

Anna-Chiara Barta

Supervisors: Luise Kruckenhauser, Martin Schwentner

Topic: Phylogeny and Evolution of Peracardia (Crustacea)

Willy De Mattia

Supervisors: Elisabeth Haring, Gerhard Steiner

Topic: Anatomical revision of Alopiinae (Gastropoda:Pulmonata:Clausiliidae): TesIng genital characters in clausiliid systematics

Giulia Marchioro

Supervisors: Luise Kruckenhauser, Pedro Frade, Igor Adameyko, Cecilia D'Angelo

Topic: Functional diversity of coral fluorescent proteins in mesophotic reefs

ResearchGate

Margret Eckhard

Supervisor: Andreas Wanninger

Topic: Glue characterization in centipedes

Antonia Grausgruber

Supervisor: Andreas Wanninger

Topic: Axis determination and left-right asymmetry in a vermetid gastropod

ORCID

Gudrun Schwarze

Supervisor: Andreas Wanninger

Topic: Evolution and Development of worm snails (Vermetidae) 

ORCID     ResearchGate     X

Katharina Wechselberger

Supervisor: Harald Krenn

Topic: Analysis of the main factors influencing the behavior of wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) as a basis for the optimization of available crop protection measures on arable land 


Limnology

Sonja Hoxha

Supervisors: Christian Griebler, Clemens Karwautz

Topic: Characterization of biogeochemical self-purification processes in the Vjosa River network with a focus on different spatial and temporal scales

Pratiksha Acharya

Supervisors: Christian Griebler, Katrin Attermeyer, Simon Vitecek

Topic: Influence of resource and consumer diversity on the quality and microbial processing of fine particulate organic matter during leaf breakdown in streams

ResearchGate

Filip-Paul Boanca

Supervisors: Christian Griebler, Clemens Karwautz 

Topic: Can microbes inform about vulnerability of spring waters — Assessment of microbial communities and water quality in Austrian springs

ResearchGate

Anna-Maria Sabine Gschwandner

Supervisor: Robert Ptacnik

Topic: Remoteness and size as determinants of Lake Ecosystem stability (RemoLake)

Alice Retter

Supervisors: Christian Griebler, Fede Baltar, Henrik Nilsson

Topic: Vulnerability and response of microbial groundwater communities in alpine regions to anthropogenic impacts and climate change.

ResearchGate

Stefano Mari

Supervisors: Martin Kainz, Libor Zavorka

Topic: The importance of dietary omega 3 fatty acids for development of cognitive skills in wild fishes through the lens of Tingbergen’s four 

Pamela Alessandra Baur

Supervisor: Stephan Glatzel

Topic: Greenhouse gas exchanges of special wetland ecosystems in Austria

ORCID     ResearchGate

Francine Mathieu

Supervisor: Martin Kainz

Topic: Temporal dynamics of plankton food webs and sediments of young gravel pit lakes. 

Constanze Englisch

Supervisor: Christian Griebler

Topic: Heat below the City - How increased temperature influences urban groundwater ecosystems

ResearchGate

John Lester Viscara Pide

Supervisor: Christian Griebler

Topic: Intrinsic potential and activity of nitrate turnover examined for different hydrogeological aquifer settings

ORCID     ResearchGate

Helena Cvetkovic

Supervisor: Christian Griebler

Topic: Deciphering fluvial methane ebullition patterns and environmental drivers by viewing streams as heterogeneous landscapes 

Christoph Novotny

Supervisor: Christian Griebler

Topic: Hidden Life Below: Unearthing the secrets of Groundwater Biodiversity

ResearchGate


Molecular Evolution and Development

Isha Joshi

Supervisor: Peter Schlögelhofer

Topic: Uncovering the Interrelation of DNA damage and Pathogen Response Pathways

ORCID     ResearchGate     LinkedIn    Webpage

Lisa Rouressol

Supervisors: Oleg Simakov, Margaret McFall-Ngai

Topic: Genomic novelty underlying symbiotic organ evolution in bobtail squids

Linkedin     Facebook     Twitter

Andreas Denner

Supervisor: Ulrich Technau

Topic: Characterization of putative stem cell marker genes in Nematostella vectensis

Patricio Ferrer Murguia

Supervisor: Ulrich Technau

Topic: Red Sea coral reefs: A Pleistocene - Recent comparison

Lubna Younas

Supervisor: Qi Zhou

Topic: Molecular mechanisms of tissue-specific dosage compensation in Drosophila species 

Paul Knabl

Supervisor: Grigory Genikhovich

Topic: BMP signaling in the cnidarian germ line

ResearchGate     Twitter 

Koto Kon

Supervisor: Oleg Simakov

Topic: Elucidating the role of transposable element activity in hydra regeneration

Oliver Link

Supervisor: Ulrich Technau

Topic: On the origin and evolution of striated muscle cells: Insights into muscle cell transcriptomes from striated muscles of cnidarian jellyfish

Sanjay Narayanaswamy

Supervisor: Ulrich Technau

Topic: Assessing senescence in the regenerative and long lived Nematostella vectensis

Twitter


Molecular Systems Biology

Fariha Naz Apon

Supervisors: Peter Schlögelhofer, Marie-Theres Hauser

Topic: Functions of cell wall integrity sensors in plant stress responses

ResearchGate

Iro Pierides

Supervisors: Wolfram Weckwerth, Steffen Waldherr

Topic: Data-driven dynamic tools for multi-omics integration and control

Yovita Astuti Djohan

Supervisor: Stefanie Wienkoop

Topic: Stress-induced Pea-omics: Messire vs. Protecta

ResearchGate     Google Scholar     LinkedIn

Shuang Zhang

Supervisor: Wolfram Weckwerth

Topic: Spatial Variability of Wheat Grain Protein Quality and Its Physiological Mechanism in Response to Different Ratios of Basal Nitrogen Fertilizer to Topdressing Nitrogen Fertilizer

Maryam Alsadat Zekri

Supervisors: Ingeborg Lang, Daniel Tholen

Topic: Water’s gateway to heaven 3D imaging and modeling of transient stomatal responses in plant leaves under dynamic environments

Hannes Kramml

Supervisor: Wolfram Weckwerth

Topic: Long-term implications of ancient polyploids: CAM as a key evolutionary innovation in Clusia spp.

Madeleine Schnurer

Supervisor: Verena Ibl

Topic: Characterization of TOL proteins in barley

Carlos A. Pérez Rízquez

Supervisor: Stefanie Wienkoop

Topic: Underlying mechanism(s) of the symbioprotein ferritin on legume root nodule formation and drought stress

 

 

Julian Preiner

Supervisor: Stefanie Wienkoop

Topic: Changes in C/N-metabolic processes and heavy metal stress response of leguminous plants (Glycine max) and their symbiotic partners during tungsten (W) and olybdenum (Mo) induced stress: An integrated proteomic, metabolomic and physiologic assessment. 

Stefan Plott

Supervisor: Wolfram Weckwerth, Verena Ibl

Topic: "ESCRT-Proteins and TOR as Regulators of Protein Turnover in Barley Grains"

ORCID

Elisa Montrucchio

Supervisor: Claudia Jonak (AIT) & Markus Teige

Topic: The role of a GSK3 protein kinases in acclimation to drought and waterlogging

LinkedIn

Caroline Ivesic

Supervisor:  Ingeborg Lang

Topic: Austrian carnivorous plants-roles of different glands

Luigi Schillaci

Supervisor: Ingeborg Lang & Harald Zechmeister

Topic: Toxic or just a nuisance - How mosses cope with heavy metals

Kaijie Liang

Supervisors: Wolfram Weckwerth, Steffen Waldherr

Topic: Genome Prediction and Functional Analysis in Large Germplasm Resources based on Omics Data and GWAS


Plant Evolutionary Biology

Teerna Saugata Khastgir

Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun

Topic: Comparative genomics and population genomics of the adaptive radiation of Diospyros on New Caledonia, a biodiversity hotspot

Sadia Sabrina Alam

Supervisor: Andreas Bachmair

Topic: The role of post-translational modifications (PTMs) in plant stress resilience

Johannes Maximilian Braunisch

Supervisor: Gerald Schneeweis

Topic: What determines distribution limits of range-restricted species in high-mountain habitats?

Lukas Dirr

Supervisor: Friðgeir Grímsson

Topic: The Application of Citizen-Science and Crowd-Sourced Data in the Field of Aerobiology

Amin Ghane 

Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun

Topic: The role of structural variation in the adaptive radiation of New Caledonian persimmons (Diospyros)

Twitter

Christian Geier

Supervisor: Friðgeir Grímsson

Topic: Flower-insect interactions in the Eocene to Oligocene of Central Europe

ResearchGate

 

 

 

Bushra Ijaz

Supervisors: Markus Teige, Andreas Bachmair

Topic: Targets of Ca2+-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) in regulatory stress response networks

Vildana Kapetanovic

Supervisor: Hanna Schneeweiss

Topic: Diversity and evolution of chili peppers, the genus Capsicum (Solanaceae)

Karen Kölzer

Supervisor: Martina Weber

Topic: Authenticity of urban honey: Specific challenges for palynology and how diversification of methods can overcome them

Constantin Kopper

Supervisors: Jürg Schönenberger, Agnes Dellinger

Topic: Pollinations syndromes, pollinator shifts and floral evolution in Melastomataceae

ORCID     ResearchGate     Webpage

Anna-Sophie Hawranek

Supervisors: Marion Chartier, Jürg Schönenberger 

Topic: Floral development, floral diversity, and pollination biology in the genus Aquilegia

Webpage

Clemens Pachschwöll

Supervisors: Franz Essl, Gerald Schneeweiss

Topic: Detecting ‘invaders in disguise’  DNA barcoding of invasive plant species in Austria

Martin Rose

Supervisor: Michael Kiehn

Topic: Impact of trade restrictions on species survival

Benjamin Seth Lazarus

Supervisor: Agnes Dellinger

Topic: Investigating plant-pollinator interaction in Melastomataceae, the most morphologically diverse buzz-pollinated family

Francesca Beclin

Supervisor: Magnus Nordborg

Topic: The evolutionary history of an aberrant chromosome of the genus Aquilegia

Xieting Wu

Supervisors: Jürg Schönenberger, Maria von Balthazar

Topic: Mesofossil flowers from the Late Cretaceous of Southern Bohemia

ResearchGate


Theoretical Evolutionary Biology

Nina Kraus

Supervisor: Brian Metscher

Topic: Hemodynamic influences on heart morphogenesis of the developing chick outflow tract

Katharina Stefke

Supervisors: Philipp Mitteröcker, Frank Zachos

Topic: Morphometric and non-metric analyses in intraspecific variation in the red deer (Cervus elaphus) and their bearing upon evolutionary history and taxonomy

Inga Stolbovaya

Supervisors: Fred Bookstein, Gerhard Weber

Topic: 3D morphometric analysis of the human cranium for the investigation of posterior discrepancy


Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity

Barbara Waringer

Supervisor: Christian H. Schulze

Topic: Clutch predation risk in ground nesting birds: effects of predator identity, habitat features and landscape structure.