Curriculum Vitae
| since 2020 | Director Institute of Avian Research “Vogelwarte Helgoland" |
| since 2020 | W3 Professor in Ornithology, Oldenburg University |
| 2020 | Habilitation at Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel Bird migration – an evolutionary genomics approach. Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences |
| 2014 - 2021 | MPI Evolutionary Biology, Plön, DE Leader of the Max Planck Research Group Behavioural Genomics Identification and characterisation of genetic variation and detection of differences in gene expression patterns between migratory bird populations with different migratory behaviour. |
| 2013 | Freiburg University, DE Feodor Lynen Reintegration Fellowship Genome-wide association of polymorphisms to identify candidate markers for migratory traits. |
| 2009 - 2012 | Lund University, SE Feodor Lynen Fellowship Alexander v Humboldt Foundation Identification and characterisation of candidate markers for migratory traits in the Willow Warbler. |
| 2007 - 2009 | Oxford University, UK Marie-Curie Intra-European Fellowship (FP6) Identification of within-population consequences of genetic variation at molecular clock genes in wild bird populations combining genotype-phenotype characterisation with quantitative genetics. |
| 2002 - 2006 | PhD studies in the group Animal Navigation, Oldenburg University, DE in collaboration with Duke University, NC, USA Magnetic orientation in migratory birds: perception and neuronal integration. |
Grants and Honors
As a PI I received funding by the Max Planck Society, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, German Science Foundation (DFG), Swedish Research Council, Wenner-Gren Foundation, FORMAS, Nilsson-Ehle-Foundation, German Scholars Organisation e.V., Royal Physiographic Society (total grant income > 8 Mio €).
I was awarded prestigious postdoctoral fellowships from the European Commission and the Alexander von the Humboldt Foundation, as a student I held competitive scholarships from DAAD and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
I received the Open-Science-Prize from the Universitätsgesellschaft Oldenburg (UGO, 2026) for a science communication experiment, a prize for outstanding PhD supervision (UGO, 2023), was awarded the JED Williams Medal for outstanding contribution to the affairs of the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN, 2021), received the Norddeutscher Wissenschaftspreis (together with Sandra Bouwhuis and Britta Meyer, 2018), and am Member of Academia.Net (Robert Bosch Stiftung), nominated by the Max Planck Society (2017).
Scientific Community Services
I am Vice Speaker of NaviSense, the international Cluster of Excellence for the Sensory Basis, Mechanisms, and Impacts of Animal Navigation, Vice Speaker of SFB 1372 "Magnetoreception and navigation in vertebrates: from biophysics to brain and behaviour", and Director and elected chair of the Animal Navigation Group, a special interest group within the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN), UK. Throughout my career I have independently organised and conveyed international conferences, workshops and symposia on topics spanning Migration Genetics, Molecular Ecology, Transgenerational Inheritance and Animal Behaviour, as well as soft skill courses on science communication and outreach.
Outreach and Media Coverage
Besides regularly talking at both national and international scientific conferences, I find it important and enjoyable to communicate science to children and the general public and have received the Open-Science Price from the UGO. I do this through public lectures, panel discussions at science festivals, excursions or workshops tailored to various settings. I created a mobile exhibition kids4kids on bird migration, initiated the kids4kids podcast where kids teach kids about science, I wrote and illustrated a kids book on Wadden Sea ecology, co-authored a book on robin migration, am frequently asked as panel member of scientific discussion boards, am scientific advisor for arts projects, write popular science articles, regularly teach at schools, and together with my team host and organise topical project days for school children across ages in various settings, we participate in Long Night of Science, European Researchers Night, Science Slam, Science Pub etc. (for examples also see our outreach section).
My research frequently receives publicity and media coverage, (i) on television: ZDF “Abenteuer Wissen”, BR “Faszination Wissen”, ARTE has featured our work on Blackcaps in a 45-minute episode "Secret migration, the Eurasian blackcap", and as part of another format "42 - Die Antwort auf fast alles"; (ii) on the radio: DLF, SWR2 Wissen, NDR, rbb etc.; (iii) podcasts: detector.fm "Das Forschungsquartett", abi>>podcast Berufe jenseits des Schreibtischs; and (iii) in reports on published articles in New Scientist, Science and various international newspapers (for examples visit our mediathek).
