Team

Responsibilities

Professor (Chair): Genetics of Adaptation in Aquatic Systems

Dr. Voolstra studies coral reefs combining ecological, environmental, microbial, and molecular approaches. Corals are metaorganisms composed of the coral host, photosynthetic dinoflagellate endosymbionts, and other associated microbiota. These so-called coral holobionts form the keystone species of reef ecosystems. Voolstra's most recent research has particularly advanced knowledge of how the microbiome contributes to environmental adaptation. Dr. Voolstra has published over 350 peer-reviewed research papers, various book chapters, and holds patents related to bioactive lead structures from marine organisms. Dr. Voolstra is the current president of the International Coral Reef Society (CRS) and the head of the Sequencing Analysis Core Facility at the University of Konstanz. Dr. Voolstra received his PhD at the Institute for Genetics in Cologne, Germany, was a Postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Merced, before joining KAUST’s Red Sea Research Center in Saudi Arabia as faculty, where he served as the Associate Direct from 2016 to 2019. In 2019, Dr. Voolstra moved to the University of Konstanz, Germany where he is Professor (Chair) of Genetics of Adaptation in Aquatic Systems.

List of publications: google scholar | ORCID

Responsibilities

Main Project

Global Search: Assessing whether a universal genetic signature exists for coral thermal stress resilience

Research Interests

Molecular Biology, Coral Holobiont, Metatranscriptomics, Genomics, Hypoxia, Coral Pigments, Climate Change, Bioinformatics

Responsibilities

Main Project

SymPortal Framework: maintenance and user support 

Professional Interests:

• Bioinformatics, Biodiversity, Parasitology, Bactetial Symbionts
• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering, System Engineering

Responsibilities

PhD Project

Genomic basis of coral reef resilience

Research Interests

Climate Change, Adaptation, Bioinformatics, Biodiversity, Coral Holobiont, Genomics

Responsibilities

PhD Project

In situ and ex situ evolution of a beneficial cnidarian symbiont - assisted evolution of a microbial symbiont

Research Interests

Climate Change, Probiotic Bacteria, Experimental Evolution, Thermal Tolerance

Responsibilities

PhD Project

Tapping into global coral holobiont diversity - patterns of metaorganism assemblage

Research Interests

Biodiversity, Coral Holobiont Composition, Reef Microbiome, Bioinformatics

Responsibilities

PhD Project

Investigating corals holobiont diversity through metabarcoding and metagenomics techniques to elucidate molecular signature of thermal resilience

Research Interests

Marine Biology, Metagenomics, Genomics, Symbiosis, Coral Reefs, Bioinformatics

Responsibilities

PhD Project

Extending the adaptive capacity of Aiptasia metaorganisms through microbiome manipulation

Research Interests

Molecular Marine Biology, Aiptasia, Microbiome, Probiotics, Coral Holobiont, Metagenomics, Bioinformatics

Responsibilities

PhD Project

Computational approaches to elucidate microbiome signatures predictive of coral stress tolerance

Responsibilities

MSc Project

Bacterial transformation using the Aiptasia coral model

Research Interests

Molecular Biology, Aiptasia, Microbiome