Research

Arnaud Begat, Dr.rer.nat

• Thesis: Mesozoic elasmobranch fish (sharks, skates, and rays) ecology and diversity patterns before extinction events
• Supervisors: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 10.07.2026

Sanjay Narayanaswamy, PhD

• Thesis: Assessing senescence in the regenerative and long lived Nematostella vectensis
• Supervisors: Ulrich Technau
• Defended on 07.07.2026

Savannah Schaufler, PhD

• Thesis: Sustainability Reset: Questions of Behavioral and Cultural Changes Revealed by COVID-19
• Supervisors: Harald Wilfing, Tatiana Konrad
• Defended on 30.06.2026

Pablo Aycart, PhD

• Thesis: Functional diversity and interactions of birds, bats and arthropods in tropical cacao agroforestry systems: linking biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service management
• Supervisor: Stefan Dullinger
• Defended on 09.06.2026

Anastasiia Padalko, PhD

• Thesis: Metabolic traits prediction and validation in Archaea
• Supervisor: Maria Filipa De Sousa
• Defended on 09.06.2026

Maryam Alsadat Zekri, PhD

• Thesis: Water’s gateway to heaven 3D imaging and modeling of transient stomatal responses in plant leaves under dynamic environments
• Supervisors: Ingeborg Lang, Daniel Tholen (BOKU)
• Defended on 01.06.2026

Philipp Pröts, PhD

• Thesis: Morphological adaptations to the symbiotic life-style of Stilbonematinae (Desmodoroidea, Nematoda)
• Supervisor: Jörg Ott
• Defended on 27.05.2026

Tobias Herzog, PhD

• Thesis: Genomic Insights on the Maniq: Population Genetics, Natural Selection and Immunogenetics
• Supervisors: Martin Fieder, Helmut Schaschl
• Defended on 08.05.2026

Sadia Sabrina Alam, PhD

• Thesis: Study of mutants and substrates in the Arabidopsis SUMOylation pathway involved in stress resilience
• Supervisors: Andreas Bachmair, Markus Teige
• Defended on 06.05.2026

Dr.rer.nat. Pratiksha Acharya

• Thesis: Influence of resource and consumer diversity on the quality and microbial processing of fine particulate organic matter during leaf breakdown in streams
• Supervisors: Christian Griebler, Katrin Attermeyer
• Defended on 27.04.2026

Emily Maisie Pigott, PhD

• Thesis: Reassessing the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic of the Crimea Peninsula and beyond using AMS radiocarbon dating and palaeoproteomics
• Supervisor: Thomas Higham
• Defended on 30.03.2026

Fariha Naz Apon, PhD

• Thesis: Molecular analyses of early responses to nickel in Arabidopsis and the involvement of the cell wall integrity receptor, THESEUS1
• Supervisors: Peter Schlögelhofer, Marie-Theres Hauser
• Defended on 25.03.2026

Nina Kraus, PhD

• Thesis: Environmental Regulation of Cardiac Development and Evolution
• Supervisor: Brian Metscher
• Defended on 23.03.2026

Lisa Rouressol, PhD

• Thesis: Genomic novelty underlying symbiotic organ evolution in bobtail squids
• Supervisors: Oleg Simakov, Margaret McFall-Ngai
• Defended on 10.03.2026

Daniel Martinovic Saavedra, PhD

• Thesis: Multifunctional alkaline phosphatases and their role in the marine phosphorus cycle
• Supervisor: Federico Gonzalez Baltar
• Defended on 23.02.2026

Julian Bibermair, PhD

• Thesis: Evolution of phylactolaemate bryozoans
• Supervisor: Thomas Schwaha
• Defended on 17.02.2026

Christian Geier, PhD

• Thesis: Flower–insect interactions in the Paleogene of Central Europe
• Supervisor: Grimsson Fridgeir
• Defended on 16.02.2026

Zhang Shuang, PhD

• Thesis: Spatial Variability of Wheat Grain Protein Quality and Its Physiological Mechanism in Response to Different Ratios of Basal Nitrogen Fertilizer to Topdressing Nitrogen Fertilizer
• Supervisor: Wolfram Weckwerth
• Defended on 10.02.2026

Kon Koto, PhD

• Thesis: Activity and evolution of transposable elements along anciently conserved animal chromosomes
• Supervisor: Oleg Simakov
• Defended on 09.02.2026

Wan Li, PhD

• Thesis: Polyphenol-Mediated Immunomodulation and Hepatoprotection: Mechanistic Insights from Norbergenin and Hesperetin
• Supervisor: Wolfram Weckwerth
• Defended on 23.01.2026

Kryštof Chytrý, PhD

• Thesis: Topography and related microclimate in alpine landscapes and how they shape vegetation’s response to climate change
• Supervisor: Stefan Dillinger
• Defended on 19.01.2026

Madeleine Schnurer, PhD

• Thesis: Characterization of TOL proteins in barley
• Supervisor: Verena Ibl
• Defended on 19.01.2026

2025

Dr.rer.nat Tom Vorstenbosch

• Thesis: Modelling future biological invasions in the sub-Antarctic under climate change
• Supervisors: Stefan Dillinger, Franz Essl
• Defended on 18.12.2025

Dr.rer.nat Angelina Ivkic

• Thesis: Palaeoecology and ecology of late Pleistocene and modern coral reefs of the northern Red Sea
• Supervisor: Martin Zuschin
• Defended on 18.12.2025

Thomas Pribasnig, PhD

• Thesis: Redefining AOA Ecophysiology: From Biofilm Formation to Oxygen Production
• Supervisor: Christa Schleper
• Defended on 19.11.2025

Sonja Kuderer, PhD

• Thesis: What’s in our hands? Investigating the interplay between handedness, handgrip strength, 2D:4D ratio, personality and sensation seeking
• Supervisors: Martin Fieder, Sylvia Kirchengast, Martin Voracek
• Defended on 07.11.2025

Karen Kölzer, PhD

• Thesis: Authenticity of urban honey: Specific challenges for palynology and how diversification of methods can overcome them
• Supervisor: Martina Weber
• Defended on 06.11.2025

Dr.rer.nat Alice Retter

• Thesis: Vulnerability and response of groundwater microbial communities in alpine regions to anthropogenic impacts and climate change
• Supervisor: Christian Griebler
• Defended on 30.10.2025

Maximilian Josef Dreer, PhD

• Thesis: Biofilm Formation and Cultivation of Ammonia Oxidizing Archaea
• Supervisor: Christa Schleper
• Defended on 24.10.2025

Constanze Hedwig Schattke, PhD

• Thesis: Witnesses of Violence? Combining Bioarchaeology and Provenance to Study Violent Acquisition Contexts of Human Remains in the Natural History Museum Vienna (1857-1935)
• Supervisors: Harald Wifling, Sabine Eggers
• Defended on 06.10.2025

Michiel Busscharet, PhD

• Thesis: Hybrid model development in (Bio)Chemical Heterogeneous Population Systems
• Supervisors: Steffen Waldherr, Florence Vermeire
• Defended on 30.09.2025

Willy De Mattia, PhD

• Thesis: Testing genital anatomical characters in clausiliid systematics on the example of Alopiiinae (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Clausiliidae)
• Supervisors: Elisabeth Haring, Gerhard Steiner
• Defended on 23.09.2025

Paul Knabl, PhD

• Thesis: Developmental roles of BMP signaling in Cnidaria
• Supervisor: Grigory Genikhovic
• Defended on 10.09.2025

Andreas Denner, PhD

• Thesis: Identification and characterization of a putative stem cell population in Nematostella vectensis
• Supervisor: Ulrich Technau
• Defended on 08.09.2025

Nadine Ebm, PhD

• Thesis: Trophic pathways of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in stream food webs
• Supervisor: Martin Kainz
• Defended on 08.09.2025

Constantin Kopper, PhD

• Thesis: Pollination Syndromes and Pollinator Shifts in Melastomataceae
• Supervisor: Jürg Schönenberger, Agnes Dellinger
• Defended on 28.08.2025

Dr.rer.nat Pamela Alessandra Baur

• Thesis: Drought-influenced greenhouse gas fluxes and their emission pathways of the subsaline reed ecosystem of Lake Neusiedl
• Supervisor: Stephan Glatzel
• Defended on 28.08.2025

Dr.rer.nat Claudia Klimpfinger 

• Thesis: The prevalence and diversity of labial cartilages in sharks and their facets of utilization during prey capture
• Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 20.08.2025

Anna Schertler, PhD

• Thesis: Macroecological perspectives in invasion biology - examining drivers of fungal and plant invasion patterns and processes
• Supervisor: Franz Essl
• Defended on 30.07.2025

Liesa Geppner, PhD

• Thesis: Development of micro- and nanoplastics isolation from blood and organs using reliable digestion protocols and their potential effects on human blood pressure
• Supervisors: Harald Wilfinger, Maja Henjakovic
• Defended on 23.06.2025

Mildred Jessica Johnson, PhD

• Thesis: The life cycle and systematics of the boring ctenostome bryozoan families Immergentiidae and Spathiporidae
• Supervisor: Thomas Schwaha
• Defended on 20.06.2025

Lubna Younas, PhD

• Thesis: Developmental regulation of Drosophila dosage compensation in a 3D genome context
• Supervisor: Qi Zhou
• Defended on 18.06.2025

Silvia Basanta, PhD

• Thesis: The evolution of signaling in mammalian pregnancy
• Supervisor: Mihaela Pavličev
• Defended on 21.03.2025

Brina Zagroc, PhD

• Thesis: Tracing Life in Antiquity and Early Medieval Times: Paleogenomics, Dietary Stable Isotopes, and Bioarchaeological Approaches in Central European Populations
• Supervisors: Maria Ivanova-Bieg, Ron Pinhasi
• Defended on 07.01.2025

2024

Marcel Seifert, PhD

• Thesis: Applying behavioral science to promote pro-environmental behavior: Experimental insights on determinants and interventions
• Supervisor: Harald Wilfing
• Defended on 03.12.2024

Dr.rer.nat. Petra Lukeneder

• Thesis: Morphometry, taphonomy and geochemistry of Late Triassic Coleoids from the Polzberg Konservat-Lagerstätte near Lunz am See (Carnian, Reingraben Shales, Lower Austria).
• Supervisor: Martin Zuschin
• Defended on 27.11.2024

Petra Šimková, PhD

• Thesis: Morphological variation and covariation in the human postcanine dentition
• Supervisor: Gerhard Weber
• Defended on 21.10.2024

Dr.rer.nat. Julia Jambura-Türtscher

• Thesis: Shaping Sharks and Rays: Taxonomic Inferences of Morphology and Morphometry on Elasmobranch Fishes
• Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 14.10.2024

Dr.rer.nat. Patrick Leopold Jambura-Türtscher

• Thesis: Evolutionary History and Macroevolutionary Dynamics in Sharks and Rays (Elasmobranchii)
• Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 14.10.2024

Florian Etl, PhD

• Thesis: Floral Biology and Chemical Communication with Pollinators and Florivores in Tropical Araceae
• Supervisors: Jürg Schönenberger, Stefan Dötterl
• Defended on 27.09.2024

Sebastian Decker, PhD

• Thesis: Boring bryozoans: Systematics and life history of the endolithic families Penetrantiidae and Terebriporidae
• Supervisor: Thomas Schwaha
• Defended on 29.08.2024

Erika Wimmer, PhD

• Thesis: Alternative functions of type III-B CRISPR-Cas systems beyond antiviral defense
• Supervisor: Christa Schleper
• Defended on 29.07.2024

Salvador Espada-Hinojosa, PhD

• Thesis: Functional and evolutionary ecology of the giant ciliate Zoothamnium niveum thiotrophic mutualism
• Supervisor: Silvia Bulgheresi
• Defended on 18.07.2024

Clara Groot Crego, PhD

• Thesis: Molecular sources of variation and their role in the adaptive radiation of Tillandsia
• Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun
• Defended on 08.07.2024

Andreas Gattringer, PhD

• Thesis: Plant migration in silico - Methods for simulating plant dynamics in a warming world
• Supervisor: Stefan Dullinger
• Defended on 27.06.2024

Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud Hussein, PhD

• Thesis: Cognitive enhancement by targeting the dopaminergic system by DAT inhibitors on Spatial-dependent learning and memory in the Rats brain.
• Supervisor: Christian Studenik
• Defended on 27.06.2024

Tobias Viehböck, PhD

• Thesis: From Bacterial Symbiont Physiology to Symbiont Chromosome Organization
• Supervisor: Silvia Bulgheresi
• Defended on 20.06.2024

Susanne Reier, PhD

• Thesis: Genetic variation of small cyprinids in the karst area
• Supervisors: Luise Kruckenhauser, Anja Palandacic
• Defended on 03.06.2024

Lisa Tedeschi, PhD

• Thesis: Ecology, spread and impacts of invasive alien mammals in Europe
• Supervisors: Franz Essl, Carlo Rondinini
• Defended on 29.05.2024

Eva Breyer, PhD

• Thesis: OCEANIDES – "Oceanic fungal ecology and biogeochemistry"
• Supervisors: Monika Bright, Franz Berthiller, Christian Griebler
• Defended on 16.05.2024

Zhengnan Cai, PhD

• Thesis: Metabolic alternation interacts with immune signal transduction in tumor-associated macrophages
• Supervisors: Elke Heiß, Wolfram Weckwerth
• Defended on 26.04.2024

Raphael Müller, PhD

• Thesis: Mechanisms of Peat Formation in Different Wetland Ecosystems
• Supervisor: Stephan Glatzel
• Defended on 16.04.2024

Jiahang Li, PhD

• Thesis: Development of Systematic Mathematic Matlab-based Software for the Analysis of Environmental, Clinical and Translational Large-scale OMICS Datasets
• Supervisor: Wolfram Weckwerth
• Defended on 21.03.2024

Carlos De Gracia, PhD

• Thesis: Evolutionary affinities among fossil and living billfishes (Teleostei: Istiophoridae)
• Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 14.03.2024

Florian Caillon, PhD

• Thesis: Understanding the dynamics of bacterial communities and dissolved organic carbon in small headwater streams
• Supervisor: Jakob Schelker, Peter Peduzzi
• Defended on 29.01.2024

Muhammad Bilal Sharif, PhD

• Thesis: Investigating the mule's ancient history in Austria and Germany using paleogenomics
• Supervisor: Elmira Mohandesan, Katrin Schäfer
• Defended on 05.01.2024

2023

Michael Glaser, PhD

• Thesis: Past, Present and Future Weeds
• Supervisors: Franz Essl, Stefan Dullinger
• Defended on 19.12.2023

Marina Ivankovic, PhD

• Thesis: The impact of mixotrophic bacterivory on microbial food webs in changing lake ecosystems
• Supervisors: Robert Ptacnik, Mia Bengtson
• Defended on 18.12.2023

Isabell Niedermoser, PhD

• Thesis: cWnt/β-catenin signaling in the early development of Nematostella vectensis
• Supervisor: Grigory Genikhovich
• Defended on 20.10.2023

Tatiana Lebedeva, PhD

• Thesis: Mechanism of molecular boundary formation in the oral-aboral patterning of the sea anemone Nematostella
• Supervisor: Grigory Genikhovich
• Defended on 15.08.2023

Janine Oettel, PhD

• Thesis: Evaluation of deadwood characteristics, its dynamics, and feeding traces of saproxylic insects in the context of forest management and conservation.
• Supervisors: Franz Essl, Martin Gossner
• Defended on 26.06.2023

Benjamin Wölfl, PhD

• Thesis: Footprints of polygenic adaptation.
• Supervisor: Joachim Hermisson
• Defended on 16.06.2023

Kellie Sara Carlson, PhD

• Thesis: 3D investigation of microarchitecture and microtaphonomy in archaeological bone.
• Supervisor: Ron Pinhasi
• Defended on 02.06.2023

Kirsten Mandl, PhD

• Thesis: Multi-modal imaging for and experiments into identifying and visualizing bioerosion in archeological bone.
• Supervisor: Martin Grassberger, Maria Teschler-Nicola
• Defended on 12.04.2023

Johannes Herpell, PhD

• Thesis: How beneficial plant-microbe-interactions in the phyllosphere contribute to plant performance
• Supervisor: Wolfram Weckwerth, Christa Schleper
• Defended on 30.03.2023

Muhammad Ahmad, PhD

• Thesis: Population genetics of selected Boraginaceae and their transcriptomic changes upon phytohormonal and microbial interaction
• Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun, Angela Sessitsch
• Defended on 20.03.2023

Elena Ritschard, PhD

• Thesis: Evolutionary origins and functional impact of novel genes on cephalopod developmental and morphological innovations
• Supervisor: Oleg Simakov
• Defended on 07.03.2023

Katherine Jennifer Salazar Alekseyeva, PhD

• Thesis: Extracellular enzymatic activities of marine pelagic fungi and the influence of temperature and salinity
• Supervisors: Federico Baltar, Gerhard Herndl
• Defended on 30.01.2023

Mujahid Ali, PhD

• Thesis: Development and Evolution of Drosophila Chromatin Landscape in a 3D genome context
• Supervisor: Qi Zhou
• Defended on 26.01.2023

Otto Monge, PhD 

• Thesis: Land use and warming effects on tropical birds: diversity and physiological vulnerability
• Supervisors: Leonida Fusani, Christian Schulze, Stefan Dullinger
• Defended on 17.01.2023

Zhiqing Xue, PhD 

• Thesis: Biogeography of the Grass Deschampsia cespitosa s. lat. on a world-wide scale
• Supervisor: Josef Greimler
• Defended on 11.01.2023

2022

Michael Melcher, PhD

• Thesis: Metabolism and Physiology of mesophilic and thermophilic Thaumarchaeota
• Supervisor: Christa Schleper
• Defended on 19.12.2022

Rohit Anil Dnyansagar, PhD 

• Thesis: Insights into the evolution of Gene Regulatory networks from the bioinformatic analysis of transcriptomic and genomic data
• Supervisor: Ulrich Technau
• Defended on 16.12.2022

Dr.rer.nat. Bianca Lintner

• Thesis: Recent deep-sea foraminifera assemblages in the NE Atlantic
• Supervisors: Petra Heinz, Martin Zuschin
• Defended on 21.09.2022

Jing Liu, PhD

• Thesis: Evolutionary dynamics of chromosome synteny and nuclear organization across amniote species
• Supervisor: Qi Zhou
• Defended on 16.09.2022

Gil Yardeni, PhD

• Thesis: Phylogenetic relationships and the evolutionary history of Tillandsia, a species-rich genus of Bromeliaceae
• Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun
• Defended on 09.08.2022

Mirta Resetar, PhD

• Thesis: Characterization of LRK071, a structural analog of the natural product honokiol, as a novel RXR agonist
• Supervisor: Verena M. Dirsch
• Defended on 22.07.2022

Dr.rer.nat Faviel Alejandro López Romero

• Thesis: Morphological evolution of elasmobranchs: Quantitative approaches from ontogeny to ecomorphological signals among clades
• Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 07.07.2022

Sinje Neukirchen, PhD 

• Thesis: Evolution of dissimilatory sulfur metabolism: a comparative phylogenomic approach
• Supervisor: Filipa Sousa
• Defended on 13.06.2022

Philipp Moritz Weber, PhD 

• Thesis: "Morphogenesis and chromosome organization in animal-attached bacteria"
• Supervisor: Silvia Bulgheresi (Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna)
• Defended on 01.06.2022

David Andrés Salamanca-Díaz, PhD

• Thesis: How to build a bivalve: Lessons from gene expression and single-cell RNA sequencing analyses.
• Supervisor: Andreas Wanninger
• Defended on 18.05.2022

Dr.rer.nat Manuel Amadori

• Thesis: Palaeobiology and Taxonomy of the extinct elasmobranch shark, †Ptychodus (Vertebrata, Chondrichthyes)
• Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 04.05.2022

Mimmi Eriksson, PhD

• Thesis: Rinse and repeat: genome dynamics following repeated allopolyploidization in marsh orchids (Dactylorhiza).
• Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun
• Defended on 27.04.2022

Suzanne Freilich, PhD

• Thesis: Shedding light on past human histories with ancient DNA and stable isotopes.
• Supervisor: Martin Fieder, Helmut Schaschl
• Defended on 25.04.2022

Dr.rer.nat Jaime Andrés Villafaña Navea

• Thesis: Insights into Cenozoic fishes (Chondrichthyes, Teleostei) from South America and Europe.
• Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 25.04.2022

Aglaia Szukala, PhD

• Thesis: Parallel and adaptive processes during ecotype formation in Heliosperma pusillum.
• Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun
• Defended on 04.04.2022

Dr.rer.nat Jan Steger

• Thesis: Patterns and ecological impacts of the Lessepsian invasion - novel insights from molluscan living and death assemblages.
• Supervisor: Paolo Giulio Albano, Martin Zuschin
• Defended on 01.04.2022

Logan Henry Hodgskiss, PhD

• Thesis: Exploring the Physiology of the Ammonia Oxidizing Archaeon Nitrososphaera viennensis.
• Supervisor: Christa Schleper
• Defended on 29.03.2022

Alexander Schahbasi, PhD

• Thesis: Social cohesion in the context of evolutionary anthropology
• Supervisor: Martin Fieder
• Defended on 31.01.2022

Gabriela Fabiola Paredes Rojas, PhD

• Thesis: Omics-based physiology of marine nematode ectosymbioses
• Supervisor: Silvia Bulgheresi
• Defended on 21.01.2022

2021

Michael Lintner, PhD

• Thesis: Feeding-experiments of foraminifera with particular focus on the carbon and nitrogen uptake
• Supervisors: Petra Heinz, Martin Zuschin
• Defended on 14.12.2021

Hannah Schmidbaur, PhD

• Thesis: Evolutionary mechanisms in cephalopod genomes: genes, synteny and chromosome architecture
• Supervisor: Oleg Simakov
• Defended on 02.12.2021

Zihao Zhao, PhD

• Thesis: Patterns of microbial cleavage of organic matter in the global ocean
• Supervisor: Gerhard Herndl
• Defended on 05.11.2021

Nima Ranjbar Sistani, PhD

• Thesis: Assessment of the rhizobial and mycorrhizal symbionts to improve the yield and seed quality in Pisum sativum under biotic stress caused by Didymella pinodes
• Supervisor: Stefanie Wienkoop
• Defended on 22.10.2021

Dr.rer.nat John Joseph Cawley

• Thesis: New perspectives on pycnodont fishes (Neopterygii, Pycnodontiformes) concerning evolutionary success, niche partitioning, extinction and taxonomy
• Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet
• Defended on 16.10.2021

Waltenberger Lukas, PhD

• Thesis: Parturition scars as evidence of birth? A geometric morphometric reappraisal of pelvic features
• Supervisors: Philipp Mitteröcker, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury
• Defended on 14.10.2021

Wai Yee Wong, PhD

• Thesis: Transposons genome evolution and regeneration in Hydra
• Supervisor: Oleg Simakov
• Defended on 28.09.2021

Huiying Shang, PhD

• Thesis: Genomics of the speciation continuum in Eurasian Populus species
• Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun
• Defended on 04.06.2021

Uliana Nekliudova, PhD

• Thesis: Dynamics of sexual reproduction and embryonic incubation in marine bryozoans
• Supervisor: Andrey Ostrovsky
• Defended on 15.04.2021

Britta Uhl, PhD

• Thesis: How much are isolated relict forest reserves influenced by local and external factors? A case study on vegetation and moths in Northern Italy
• Supervisor: Konrad Fiedler
• Defended on 13.04.2021

Mirko Wölfling, PhD

• Thesis: The status of a Mediterranean forest reserve (Pineta san Vitale, Ravenna) prone to degradation: A case study on moths
• Supervisor: Konrad Fiedler
• Defended on 11.03.2021

Dieter Stephan Reich, PhD

• Thesis: Endangered grassland species in time and space - insights gained from European taxa of Gentianella Moench
• Supervisor: Josef Greimler
• Defended on 11.02.2021 

Jakob Weiszmann, PhD

• Thesis: Effects of low temperature on photosynthesis and primary metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana
• Supervisors: Wolfram Weckwerth, Thomas Nägele
• Defended on 02.02.2021

2020

Mag. Paul Alan Steiner, PhD

• Thesis: Successional changes in marine snow in the northern Adriatic Sea
• Supervisor: Gerhard Herndl
• Defended on 21.12.2020

Ekaterina Pukhlyakova, PhD

• Thesis: Epithelial morphogenesis, mechanotransduction and the role of cadherins during early development of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis
• Supervisor: Ulrich Technau
• Defended on 07.12.2020

Maria Gomes Ribeiro Teixeira Pinto, PhD

• Thesis: Prokaryotic communities and plastic pollution in the ocean
• Supervisor: Gerhard Herndl
• Defended on 17.11.2020

Dr.rer.nat Alexandros Xafis

• Thesis: Out of Africa: dietary transitions of migrating megaherbivores during the Miocene
• Supervisors: Doris Nagel, Fridgeir Grimsson
• Defended on 05.11.2020

Christoph Neumayr, PhD

• Thesis: Differential cofactor dependencies define functionally distinct types of human enhancers
• Supervisor: Alexander Stark
• Defended on 29.10.2020

Lisa-Maria Mauerhofer, PhD

• Thesis: Comparative Physiology of Methanogenic Archaea with respect to Biotechnological Applications
• Supervisors: Simon Karl-Maria Rasso Rittmann, Christa Schleper
• Defended on 15.10.2020

Mag. Sandra Kirchner, PhD

• Thesis: Shedding light on the evolution of an enigmatic fish. Comparative analyses of cavernicolous and surface-dwelling populations of Garra barreimiae
• Supervisors: Harald Krenn, Elisabeth Haring
• Defended on 22.06.2020

Mag. Peter Lampert, PhD

• Thesis: Educational dimensions of plant reproduction - Analyses of students’ conceptions, knowledge base and science content to provide implications and options for teaching
• Supervisors: Suzanne Kapelari, Michael Kiehn
• Defended on 22.06.2020