The central research focus in our department is to understand the biological variation and evolution of humans, their ancestors, and closest relatives. We are using state-of-the-art technologies such as ancient DNA analysis, micro-computed tomography, geometric morphometrics, big data analysis and others. Our main research areas are:

  • Functional Morphology
  • Genetics & Isotopes
  • Behavioral Biology
  • Life History & Demography
  • Human Ecology

Gerhard Weber

Speaker

Research Areas: Human Evolution and Primate Morphology

PhD Students:

  • Inga Stolbovaya
  • Elöd Úry

Martin Fieder

Research Areas: Evolutionary Demography; Migration and Integration; Evolution of Religions;  Bioinformatics and Statistical Genetics;  Research and higher Education Management;  Human Cooperation

PhD Students:

  • Tobias Göllner
  • Sonja Kuderer

Katerina Douka

Research Areas: Radiocarbon Dating and Palaeoproteomics

PhD Students:

  • Konstantina Cheshmedzhieva

Thomas Higham

Research Areas: Radiocarbon Dating, Archaeological Science, Palaeolithic archaeology, chronology, Neanderthals and Denisovans

PhD Student:

  • Emily Pigott

Sylvia Kirchengast

Research Areas: Body composition and health; Migration and Health; Biological, evolutionary and social aspects of teenage pregnancies; etc.

PhD Students:

  • Jeannette Becker
  • Sonja Kuderer
  • Magdalena Srienc-Sciesiek
  • Hannah Sandra Grabmayer
  • Andrea Stadlmayr

Martin Kuhlwilm

Research Areas: genomics, admixture, primates incl. humans

PhD Student:

  • Aigerim Rymbekova
  • Michelle Hämmerle
  • Konstantina Cheshmedzhieva

Ron Pinhasi

Research Areas: Ancient DNA genomics of human populations across the world during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene with a strong link to physical anthropology and archaeology; aDNA from sediments and pathogen aDNA as well as on the genomics of domesticated species and commensals.

PhD Students:

  • Victoria Oberreiter
  • Brina Zagorc

Katrin Schäfer

Research Areas: Human Behavioral Biology and Evolutionary Aesthetics

PhD Student:

  • Arne Bielke 

Harald Wilfing

Research Area: Human Ecology

PhD Students:

  • Leo Capari
  • Liesa Geppner
  • Katarina Matiasek
  • Constanze Hedwig Schattke
  • Marcel Seifert
  • Savannah Schaufler
  • Mohammad Nazmul Arifin

Elmira Mohandesan

Co-Mentor

 

 

PhD Student:

  • Arne Bielke