• spatial distribution and structure of biological communities
• influence of environmental factors and functional traits of organisms on ecological interactions
• theory-guided descriptive modeling

Sedimentological investigations and benthic habitat mapping to analyze the spatial distribution in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the North Sea.

• Since 2019: Scientist at the Thünen Institute for Sea Fisheries, working group Marine Ecosystems.
• 2016-2019: PostDoc at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany, department Functional Ecology, working group Ecosystem Functions. Topic: Spatial dynamics of benthic functional diversity in the North Sea.
• 2014-2015: PostDoc at the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Hamilton, New Zealand, working group Marine Ecology.
• 2012-2013: Guest scientist at NIWA, Hamilton, New Zealand, working group Marine Ecology.
• 2005-2011: PhD-student at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Texel, the Netherlands, department Marine Ecology. Topic: Size-dependent predation risk for young bivalves.
• 2004: Freelance biologist (Benthic surveys).
• 2002-2003: Master thesis at NIOZ, Texel, The Netherlands.
• 1996-2003: Study of Biology at the Universities of Rostock and Bremen, Germany. Major subjects Marine Biology, Ecology, and Geology.