Research ProfileI am an ecologist interested in the broad question of how parasites interact with their environment and function as integral components of ecosystems. My work focuses on digenean trematodes that parasitize a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. I have studied the role of these ecologically important parasites in various ecosystems to better understand their contribution to the systems’ biodiversity, energetics and food webs, their role in species invasion processes, as well as their medical relevance as human pathogens.
International mobility has been an integral part of my academic career, and I have worked at leading research facilities in my field in Germany, the Czech Republic, South Africa, New Zealand and Denmark. I am currently an Associate Professor in Ecological Parasitology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. |
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Academic Employment and Education
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Since 2022
2021 - 2022 2019 - 2021 2019 2017 - 2019 2016 - 2017 2011 - 2015 2008 - 2009 2005 - 2010 |
Associate Professor in Ecological Parasitology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Research fellow at the Centre for Water and Environmental Research at the University of Duisburg Essen, Germany Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Fellow/postdoc at the Department of Biology at Aarhus University, Denmark Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Project: Hazardous host-finding: Comparative study of transmission abilities and predator evasion in parasites Postdoctoral researcher at the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Project: Implications of invasive species for host-parasite dynamics in floodplain systems PhD at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Aquatic Ecology. Title: Biology and ecology of trematodes parasitizing aquatic snails in the Ruhr reservoir system in Germany. Studies at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand (Applied Linguistic & Biology) Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany (English & Biology for a teaching degree, Staatsexamen) |
Grants and Funding
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2021 - 2022
2019 - 2021 2019 2017 - 2019 2017 - 2021 2017 2016 - 2017 2014 - 2015 2014 2012 - 2015 2011 - 2014 |
German Scholars Organization (GSO) Leadership Academy (LSA5) Fellowship.
Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship at the Department of Biology at Aarhus University, Denmark* German Research Foundation (DFG) return fellowship at the University of Duisburg-Essen* German Research Foundation (DFG) fellowship for research at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand* Bilateral South African & German project Novel approaches to assess toxicity of platinum-group elements in aquatic environments, funded by the South African National Research Foundation, the German Aerospace Centre and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) travel grant Postdoctoral Fellowship of the North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa* PhD research grant of the Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen* German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) travel grant* German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) -funded joint project Safe Ruhr German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) PhD scholarship* *Primary author of grant application |
Prizes and Awards
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2016
2016 2016 2016 |
Award for best presentation at the 45th PARSA Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, awarded by the Parasitological Society of South Africa
‘Young Scientist Award’ for excellent interdisciplinary research in environmental sciences; first prize for a doctoral dissertation, awarded by the Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), Germany ‘Best Doctoral Thesis of the Faculty of Biology at the University of Duisburg-Essen in 2015’ for outstanding achievements ‘Best Poster in Scientific and Technical Excellence’ at the Environment and Health Symposium 2015, Pretoria, South Africa |
Collaborative Network
orcid.org/0000-0002-7777-6515