Current lab members (@ UW - University of Warsaw)

PD Dr. Kenneth De Baets
Dr. Aleksandra Skawina
Weronika Łaska

PhD students

1. Anthony Rozario (2025 - ) - Environmental versus host controls on inclusion diversity in Permian-Triassic vertebrate coprolites (University of Warsaw, main supervisor and PI)
2. Adam Lis (2025 - )  (University of Warsaw, supervisor together with dr Sergi López-Torres)
3. Jonatan Audycki (2023 - ) - Evolutionary patterns and colonization of new environments: understanding the evolution and functional morphology of freshwater chelicerates (University of Warsaw, main supervisor and PI, expected to defend in 9/2027)

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MSc students (@ UW - University of Warsaw)

1. Paweł Olszewski (2023 - ) - Using molecular cophylogenetic methods to estimate extinction risk in ascaridoid nematoda
2. Kamil Poteralski (2023 - ) - The impact of the Pliensbachian-Toarcian crisis on belemnites from the Asturian Basin

Alumni

Postdocs

1. Dr. Karina Vanadzina (2022-2024; IDUB Project Funding)
2. Dr. Ninon Allaire (2021; FAU AriadneTechNat Postdoctoral Visiting Scholarship)
3. Dr. John Huntley (2013, 2017; Short-term Humboldt Stipendium)

PhD-students

1. Paulina Nätscher (2019 - 2024, FAU University Erlangen-Nürnberg; main supervisor and PI, defended on 20.12.2024, now Postdoc @ Universität Rostock) - Size reductions during hyperthermal events: early warnings of environmental deterioration or signs of extinction?
2. Patricia Rita (2016 - 2019, FAU University Erlangen-Nürnberg; main supervisor and PI, defended on 13.12.2019, now Projekt Manager @ Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa) - Diversity and body size dynamics of marine invertebrate assemblages across the Pliensbachian-Toarcian crisis
3. Carole Naglik (2013 - 2018; University of Zürich, external member of PhD committee, defended on 28.9.2018, Main supervisor: Christian Klug; now geologist @ CSD Engineers) - Palaeozoic Ammonoidea: ontogeny, hydrostatics, palaeoecology and stratigraphy 

Guest researchers

1. Alicja Kaźmierkiewicz
2. Íñigo Vitón García (10/2023-12/2023: predoctoral researcher @ Complutense University of Madrid)
3. Dr. Christine Kiesmüller (2024 - 2025, DAAD Stipendium) 

Master-students

1. Najat Al-Fudhaili (2022, co-supervised with Axel Munnecke; manuscript related to master thesis in preparation) - Belemnite growth dynamics and trace elemental composition across the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary event
2. Laura Mulvey (2021, co-supervised with Rachel Warnock; manuscript related to master thesis published) - Where the fossil record falls flat: using novel cophylogenetic methods to unravel platyhelminth evolution
3. Wyatt Petrishan (2020, co-mentoring with Charles Henderson and Emilia Jarochowska; manuscript related to master thesis published)
4. Paulina Nätscher (2019; manuscript related to master thesis published) - Morphological Disparity of Belemnites across the Pliensbachian – Toarcian Environmental Crisis
5. Pascal Abel (2018, co-supervised with Manual Steinbauer) - Macroecological patterns in Paleozoic ammonoids
6. Christof Übelacker (2018, manuscript related to master thesis published) - Body size dynamics of belemnite assemblages across the Pliensbachian-Toarcian crisis
7. Marianne Kunkel (2016, manuscript related to master thesis in preparation) - Body size dynamics of llate Devonian ammonoids
8. Thomas Clements (2013, co-supervised with Jakob Vinther; manuscript related to master thesis published) - Experimental Taphonomy of Squids and Octopods

Bachelor-students

1. Nadine Fersch (2021; with Prof. Dr. Martin Klingler) - Verbreitung von zoonotischen Erregern in fossilen Wirbeltieren des Quartärs
2. Liv Steger (2021; with Prof. Dr. Martin Klingler) - Veränderungen in der Morphologie von Tintenfischen als Reaktion auf Nahrungsverfügbarkeit und Ozeanversauerung
3. Rebecca Gold  (2021; with Prof. Dr. Martin Klingler) - Veränderung der Körpergröße und Proportionen von Belemniten während der Pliensbach-Toarc Krise
4. Kerstin Frühbeißer (2020; with Dr. Emilia Jarochowska) - Sclerochronology of the belemnite Catateuthis longiforma across the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary in the Lusitanian basin, Portugal
5. Elisabeth Weiland (2020; with Prof. Dr. Martin Klingler and Dr. Barbara Seuß) - Bioerosion am rezenten Nautilus
6. Romy Eichler (2019; with Prof. Dr. Martin Klingler) - Impact of Holocene climate change and human migration on parasitic diseases
7. Thomas Wolkenstörfer (2019; with Prof. Dr. Martin Klingler) - Morphological Disparity of Toarcian Belemnites
8. Peter Laschinger (2019, manuscript related to bachelor thesis published) - Belemnite body size response to the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (in the Cleveland Basin)
9. Manuel Blank (2018) - Trends in parasite-host prevalence: coextinction or independent evolution?
10. Fabian Dircherl (2018) - Taphonomie eines unterdevonischen Ammonitenschlachtfeldes
11. Hans Bähr (2017; with Dr. Emilia Jarochowska) - 3D-morphometrische Analyse von Oulodus siluricus und
    Oulodus excavatus (Conodonta): P-Elemente
12. Alexandra Kölbl (2017; with Dr. Emilia Jarochowska) - 3D morphometric analysis of the M element of Oulodus siluricus and Oulodus excavatus (Conodonta)
13. Paulina Nätscher (2017, manuscript related to bachelor thesis published) - Changes in the body size of belemnites across the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary
14. Martina Schlott (2017, manuscript related to bachelor thesis published) - Fluctuations in body size of Bavarian belemnite battlefields
15. Benjamin Gügel (2016, manuscript related to bachelor thesis published) - 3D-Rekonstruktion von Machaeridier-Skleriten aus dem Devon
16. Julia Stilkerich (2015, manuscript related to bachelor thesis published) - 3D-Analyse eines nicht-planspiralen Ammonoideen aus dem Hunsrückschiefer
17. Shamsiya Mammadova (2015) - Erstes Vorkommen fossiler Perlen: Nachweise für Parasiten mit komplexen Lebenszyklen oder fossile Verfälschungen „in Aktion“
18. Christof Übelacker (2015, manuscript related to bachelor thesis published) - The first Teicherticeras from the Eifel

Supervised Research projects Master Students

1. Zahra Al Lawati (2021)
2. Eileen Straube (2020, with Dr. Gregor Mathes)

Lab/Field assistants

1. Johannes Eichel (2021)
2. Zahra Al Lawati (2021)
3. Najat Al-Fudhaili (2021)
4. Kerstin Frühbeißer (2020)
5. Michael Grau (2020)
6. Namra Sikilkar (2020)
7. Eileen Straube (2020)
8. Alejandra Gomez (2019)
9. Manuel Blank (2018)
10. Simon Grimus (2018)
11. Christof Übelacker (2017)
12. Chris Kallina (2016)
13. Paulina Nätscher (2016)
14. Julia Stilkerich (2015)
15. Caroline Hofmann (2014)

Often science is depicted as a lonely endeavour by individual scientists which is far from the truth. The same vision is also distributed by prizes for individual scientists like nobel prizes. Science is however a collaborative team effort and would not be possible without our team and many collaborators.