Current PhD Projects

Gargi Ahuja
Supervisors: Eddy van der Zee (NeuBio), Arjan Kortholt (GBB)
Combating Parkinson’s disease by modulating the activity of the kinase LRKK2 by way of passive exercise and an evolutionary approach

Mareike G. Bach
Supervisors: Theo Elzenga (GREEN), Jaqueline Stefels (MarBio)
Predicting DMS(P) production in a high-CO2 world - Does algal carbon-utilization provide the answer?

Wender Bil
Supervisors: Christiaan Both (ConsEco), Raymond Klaassen (ConsEco), Janne Ouwehand (ConsEco)
Ecology of Pied flycatchers on the wintering grounds in relation to migration

Nadja Brait
Supervisors: Joana Falcao Salles GREEN), Sebastian Lequime (GREEN)
Evolutionary interactions between flaviviruses

Misshelle A. Bustamante Ordonez
Supervisors: Franjo Weissing (TRÊS), Oscar Kuipers (GBB), Marjon de Vos (GREEN)
The role of eco-evolutionary interactions on the spread of antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic microbial communities

J. Romy Buwalda-Smit
Supervisors: Martien Kas (NeuBio), Jon Laman (UMCG), Mick Elliot (EGDB)
Evolutionary function and epigenetic profile of fetal-maternal microchimeric cells during mouse pregnancy

Isabelle P.R. Buyens
Supervisor: Chris Smit (ConsEco)
When the going gets tough - How facilitation influences plant community structure across severity gradients

Caterina Coral
Supervisors: Tjisse van der Heide (ConsEco), Tjeerd Bouma (ConsEco/NIOZ)
ReViFES – North Sea reef vitalisation for ecosystem services

Ines M. Daras
Supervisors: Franjo Weissing (TRÊS), Sander van Doorn (TRÊS)
Eco-evolutionary causes and consequences of plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer

Jon Dickson
Supervisors: Tjisse van der Heide (ConsEco), Klemens Eriksson (MarBio), Laura Govers (MarBio)
Wadden Mosaic – Restoration of hard substrates

Lauren de Wit
Supervisors: Roelof Hut (NeuBio), Eddy van der Zee (NeuBio), Rob Henning (UMCG)
What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger - Increased lifespan in hibernators despite DNA damage

Nicolas P. Doubovetzky
Supervisors: Jean-Christoph Billeter (NeuBio), Bregje Wertheim (EGDB)
Neurogenetic dissection of a sexual conflict in Drosophila melanogaster

Merijn M.G. Driessen
Supervisors: Simon Verhulst (BPE), Ido Pen (TRÊS), Irene Tieleman (BPE)
Mosaic aging

Jean-Yves Duriaux Chavarria
Supervisors: Pablo Tittonell (ConsEco), Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez (Cornell University), Ruth Howison (ConsEco)
People-Nature trade-offs and synergies in agricultural landscapes - Guiding conservation and regeneration from local people’s perspectives

Aude A. Giraud
Supervisors: Martine Maan (EGDB), Han Adriaenssen (Philosophy)
Epigenetics and inheritance of acquired characters - Lamarck's legacy and its relationship to modern advances in evolutionary biology

Maarten R. Hamberg
Supervisors: Roelof Hut (NeuBio), Robert Henning (UMCG), Robbert Havekes (NeuBio)
The cool brain - How hibernators maintain neuronal integrity

Solveig H. Höfer
Supervisors: Tjisse van der Heide (ConsEco), Valérie Reijers (Radboud University Nijmegen)
Space for sand

Peter K. Hoitinga
Supervisors: Bregje Wertheim (EGDB), Michael Fontaine (MarBio), Sander van Doorn (TRÊS)
Evolution of complex molecular networks in immunity

Shem C. Kifugo
Supervisors: Han Olff (ConsEco), Joseph Ogutu (University of Hohenheim)
Spatial pattern of land use change and its driving forces in the greater Serengeti-Mara ecosystem

Pinar Kohlmeier-Güler
Supervisors: Ido Pen (TRÊS), Jean-Christophe Billeter (EGDB), Ton Groothuis (EGDB)
Adaptive parental effects in fluctuating environments - Integration of experimental evolution, genomics, physiology and theoretical modelling

Dehuang Kong
Supervisors: Gertjan van Dijk (NeuBio), Sahar El Aidy (GBB)
Role of dietary fibers in energy balance regulation of mice: a dual focus on health and growth

E.C. (Elske) Koppenaal
Supervisors: Han Olff (ConsEco), Stijn Temmerman (University of Antwerp), Han van Dobben (WUR)
Effects of soil subsidence following gas extraction on Ameland related to autonomous dynamics in the Wadden Sea

Kevin Kort
Supervisors: Sander van Doorn (TRÊS), Hermie Harmsen (UMCG), Franjo Weissing (TRÊS)
Eco-evolutionary dynamics and control of the gut microbiome

Koosje P. Lamers
Supervisors: Christiaan Both (ConsEco), Raymond Klaassen (ConsEco)
Dispersing to northern breeding areas as adaptation to climate change in migrant birds

Hemant Singh Maheshwari
Supervisors: Theo Elzenga (GREEN), Dick van Elsas (GREEN)
Selection of microbiomes associated with soybean for enhancing growth, nutrient mobilization and tolerance to abiotic stresses

Ilaria Manfredonia
Supervisors: Sebastian Lequime (GREEN), Bregje Wertheim (EGDB)
RNA secondary structures in the evolution of Flaviviruses

Reinaldo S. Marfull Castro
Supervisors: Jan Komdeur (BPE), Franjo Weissing (TRÊS)
Begging responses in a social and environmental context in blue tits

Kasper J. Meijer
Supervisors: Han Olff (ConsEco), Tjisse van der Heide (ConsEco), Laura Govers (MarBio)
How effective are marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Wadden Sea?

Xenia Moreira Lopes
Supervisors: Per Palsbøll (MarBio), Martine Bérubé (MarBio), Jooke Robbins (CCS, Provincetown)
Timing and genomic fingerprints of marine mammal adaptations to polar climates

Gordon S.O. Ojwang
Supervisors: Han Olff (ConsEco), Joseph Ogutu (University of Hohenheim)
Savannah herbivore dynamics and changing landscapes of the Maasai pastoral lands within the Mara ecosystem, East Africa

Tim Oortwijn
Supervisors: Theunis Piersma (ConsEco), Jan van Gils (NIOZ)
Carry-over effects of body shrinkage in red knots

Morrison T. Pot
Supervisors: Marcel Visser (NIOO/NeuBio), Henk van der Jeugd (NIOO)
Towards understanding the avian migratory program

Carolina Prauchner Silva
Supervisors: Rampal Etienne (TRÊS), Renan Maestri (UFRGS), Milton de Souza Mendonça (UFRGS)
Patterns and evolutive consequences of galling insects and its host plants interactions

Miguel A. Puentes-Escamilla
Supervisors: Charlotte Hemelrijk (TRÊS), Bauke Buwalda (NeuBio)
Social behaviour, sex ratio and physiology in mixed-sex groups of rats - Models and experimental data

Tianjian Qin
Supervisors: Rampal Etienne (TRÊS), Luis Lima Valente (Naturalis)
Effects of phylogenetic relatedness and species interactions on macroevolutionary patterns

Nur Qomariyah
Supervisors: Gertjan van Dijk (NeuBio), Anton Scheurink (NeuBio)
Anti-diabetic effects of Sansevieria leaves based on endocrine, behavioural and immunohistochemical techniques in the rat

Jana M. Riederer
Supervisors: Franjo Weissing (TRÊS), Jan Komdeur (BPE)
Social determinants of evolvability

Vania E. Rivera León
Supervisors: Per Palsbøll (MarBio), Martine Bérubé (MarBio), Jooke Robbins (CCS, Provincetown)
Evolution of seasonal philopatry in the marine realm

E.E. (Lizzie) Roeble
Supervisors: Rampal Etienne (TRÊS), Luis Lima Valente (Naturalis)
Global island biogeography and diversity dynamics of Asteraceae

Mário A. Santos Mira
Supervisors: Ido Pen (TRÊS), Jean-Christophe Billeter (EGDB), Ton Groothuis (EGDB)
Environmental predictability and the evolution of parental effects - Integrating ecology, phylogeny, modelling and genetics

Raphaël Scherrer
Supervisors: Rampal Etienne (TRÊS), Sander van Doorn (TRÊS), Michael Fontaine (GREEN)
Adaptive diversity and eco-evolutionary dynamics

Juliana P. Sosa Espinosa
Supervisors: Simon Verhulst (BPE), Marco Giraldo (University of Antioquia), Doekele Stavenga (FSE)
Colour and polarization signalling of Morpho butterflies


Marrit van der Bruggen
Supervisors: Leo Beukeboom (EGDB), Bregje Wertheim (EGDB), Joana Falcao Salles (GREEN)
Insects as sustainable feed for a circular economy - Housefly behaviour and well-being under mass rearing conditions

Roel J. van der Schoot
Supervisors: Bert Hoeksema (ConsEco/Naturalis), Charles Fransen (Naturalis)
Coral associated fauna, curse or blessing?

Tom S.L. Versluijs
Supervisors: Theunis Piersma (ConsEco), Jeroen Reneerkens (ConsEco), Jan van Gils (ConsEco/NIOZ)
Coping with phenological mismatch - How an insectivorous migrant shorebird may mitigate the negative effects of a warming Arctic by prey and patch selection

Maaike Vogel
Supervisors: Bregje Wertheim (EGDB), Leo Beukeboom (EGDB), Joana Falcao Salles (GREEN)
Insects as sustainable feed for a circular economy - Housefly health and immunology under mass rearing conditions

Qingqing W. Wang
Supervisors: Pablo Tittonell (ConsEco), K. Wang (Beijing Institute of Technology)
The historical and future impacts of climate change on global agricultural productivity

Wenxia Wang
Supervisors: Jan Komdeur (BPE), Hua Wu (Central China Normal University)
Evolution of parental care and communal breeding

Xuelai Wang
Supervisors: Christiaan Both (ConsEco), Roelof Hut (NeuBio)
Tracing evolution of annual timing in a long distance migratory song bird - A combined natural behaviour and neuro-genetics approach

Maryann S. Watson
Supervisors: Klemens Eriksson (MarBio), Laura Govers (MarBio)
The function of subtidal reefs for fish

Yingying Wu
Supervisors: Uli Eisel (NeuBio), Regien Schoemaker (NeuBio/UMCG)
Analyzing the biological function of microglia hyper-ramification in neurodegeneration and depression

Tao Yang
Supervisors: Theo Elzenga (GREEN), Luit de Kok (GREEN)
Role of receptor-like kinases in stress-tolerance traits in root-architecture of Arabidopsis thaliana and selected fodder plants

Lars E. Zandbergen
Supervisors: Joana Falcao Salles (GREEN), Marjon de Vos (GREEN)
Ecology and evolution of microbial infectious ecosystems

Qingtian Zhao
Supervisors: Jan Komdeur (BPE), Xin Lu (Wuhan University)
A test of the adaptive benefits of cooperatively breeding ground tits

Tianhao Zhao
Supervisors: Barbara Helm (NeuBio), Bregje Wertheim (EGDB)
Phenotypic and genetic differences of migratory songbirds from central China migration flyway

Last modified: | 27 February 2025 3.40 p.m. |