Grigory Genikhovich, Senior Scientist

Evolution of axial patterning mechanisms

Thomas Hummel, Professor of Molecular Neurobiology

Development and Evolution of Neural Circuit

Florian Raible, Associate Professor

Neuronal development, regenerative plasticity and biomaterials

Roger Revilla-i-Domingo, Senior Scientist

Stem cells, early animal evolution and deep-sea sponge ecology

Oleg Simakov, Professor for Evolutionary Genomics

Evolution of metazoan genome architecture

Kristin Teßmar-Raible, Professor of Chronobiology Mechanisms of time and light effects on animals

Ulrich Technau, Professor of Developmental Biology Cnidaria and evolution of bilaterian traits

Manuel Zimmer, Professor for Neurobiology

Neuronal network dynamics and behavior

We are addressing fundamental problems in Neuroscience, Developmental Biology, and Evolutionary Biology. We are particularly interested in:

How complex neural circuitry arises in development
How the activity of neuronal networks regulates animal behavior
How animal genomes, body plans and cell types evolved

In order to address these questions, we use several animal systems encompassing cnidarians, mollusks, fruit flies and nematodes, and a broad spectrum of experimental approaches. Our expertise ranges from genetics, cell- and developmental biology, and genomics to systems neuroscience. We are an interdisciplinary collaborative team of eight groups. Click here to find out about their specific fields of research.