Prof. Dr.
Justyna Wolinska
Programme Area Speaker
Research Group Leader
Professor
Phone
+49 30 64181-686
Room
216
Müggelseedamm 301, 12587 Berlin
Profile
Research group
Expertise
I study evolutionary and ecological processes mediated by parasitism in aquatic ecosystems. Parasites are ubiquitous and exert strong selection on their hosts to evolve resistance, while themselves being under strong selection to overcome host defenses. My research group aims to develop a better understanding of the interface between such host–parasite coevolution and major ecological processes in the face of global environmental change.
Professorship
for Aquatic Evolutionary Ecology at Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Biology
CV
Scientific education
- 2012: Habilitation (Evolutionary Ecology), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Germany
- 2006: PhD (Evolutionary Ecology), Eawag/ETH Zurich, Switzerland
- 2001: MSc (Environmental Protection), Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
- 1999: BSc (Environmental Protection), Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
Professional experience
- Since 2015: Professor for Aquatic Evolutionary Ecology, Freie Universität Berlin (FU), Germany
- Since 2014: Research Group Leader, IGB Berlin, Germany
- 2008-2014: Assistant Professor, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Germany
- 2006-2008: Postdoc Research Fellow, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
Publications
Grants
Grants
Grants
Scientific grants (as PI)
- 2024-2026 (3 years): Doctoral Network-HORIZON-MSCA “Pathogens of Algae for Biocontrol and Biosecurity, PHABB”
- 2020-2022 (3 years): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG & National Science Centre Poland (German-Polish collaboration): "Paradapt: Can parasite evolution reinforce the effects of climate warming?".
- 2018-2020 (3 years): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (German-Israeli collaboration): “The evolution of virulence under conditions of frequent multiple infections”.
- 2017-2019 (3 years): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG & Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF (German-Swiss collaboration): “Host-parasite interactions in hybridizing Daphnia, from correlations to experiments”.
- 2013-2015 (3 years): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (proposal integrated within a Priority Program: Host-parasite coevolution; rapid reciprocal adaptation and its genetic basis): “Red Queen dynamics in Daphnia; revealing evolutionary change in a parasite population”.
- 2012-2014 (3 years): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG and Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF (German-Swiss collaboration): “Host-parasites interactions in Daphnia: the role of variable environments”.
- 2012-2014 (3 years): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (proposal integrated within a Research Unit: Natural selection in structured populations): “The role of hybridization in the colonization of newly opened habitats”.
- 2010-2012 (3 years): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG “Facing multiple enemies: trade-offs between adaptive responses to predators and parasites in the context of inducible defences”.
- 2010-2012 (3 years): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (proposal integrated within a Priority Program: Host-parasite coevolution; rapid reciprocal adaptation and its genetic basis): “Red Queen dynamics in Daphnia: the role of variable environments. Part 2”.
- 2009 (1 year): Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG “Red Queen dynamics in Daphnia: the role of variable environments. Part 1”.
Scientific grants (as Host)
- 2025-2027 (2 years): German Academic Exchange Service DAAD and China Scholarship Cuncil CSC - Liu Le: "The influence of microplastic and nanoplastic pollution on freshwater host-parasite interactions and ecological processes" (postdoc stipend)
- 2026-2028 (3 years): U.S. National Science Foundation NSF - Kristel Sanchez: "Eco-evolutionary impacts of cyanobacterial diets on host-parasite interactions" (postdoc stipend)
- 2024-2027 (4 years): German Academic Exchange Service DAAD - Maysan Nashashibi: "The effects of nanoplastics on the host (Daphnia) feeding behaviour and its effect on the infection outcome" (PhD stipend)
- 2024 (1 year): International IGB Fellowship Program - Kristel Sanchez: "Eco-evolutionary impacts of cyanobacterial diets in host-parasite interactions"(postdoc stipend)
- 2022-2023 (2 years): DFG Walter Benjamin Programme - Erika Martínez Ruiz: "Impact of a widespread herbicide on infectious disease dynamics in phytoplankton and fungi host-parasite interactions" (postdoc stipend)
- 2020 (1 year): International IGB Fellowship Program - Kingsly Chuo Beng: “High-resolution metabarcoding data to detect host-parasite interactions in a freshwater system” (postdoc stipend)
- 2020 (6 months): National Science Centre Poland, ETIUDA fellowship - Marcin Dziuba: "Climate warming and host-parasite interactions" (PhD exchange stipend)
- 2018 (1 year): International IGB Fellowship Program - Thijs Frenken: “Biological concepts for the control of aquatic zoosporic diseases ” (postdoc stipend)
- 2017 (1 year): International IGB Fellowship Program - Tatiana Semenova: “DNA-metabarcoding of plankton communities” (postdoc stipend)
- 2016 (1 year): International IGB Fellowship Program - Melanie Gerphagnon: “Chytrid: an overlooked transfer agent of matter and energy in aquatic foodwebs” (postdoc stipend)
- 2016-2017 (2 yeasr): Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation - Ramsy Agha: “Host-parasite coevolution in asexually-reproducting host” (postdoc stipend)
- 2016 (6 months): German Academic Exchange Service DAAD - Marcin Dziuba: "Climate change impact on Daphnia-parasite interaction in D. longispina species complex" (PhD stipend)
- 2014-2015 (2 years): German Academic Exchange Service DAAD (CONACYT: cooperation program with Mexico) - Federico Castro Monzon: "Parasite-driven demographic changes across evolutionary timescales" (PhD exchange stipend)
- 2010-2011 (2 years): Bayerische Eliteförderung - Olivia Hesse: "The effect of multiple stressors on Daphnia" (PhD stipend)
Other grants
(I helped to write and / or defend these proposals in front of the funding committee)
- 2010-2012 (3 years): VolkswagenStiftung: Munich Graduate School Evolution, Ecology and Systematics (EES)
- 2011-2013 (3 years): EU funding: Erasmus Mundus Master Programme in Evolutionary Biologe (MEME); partner universities: Munich, Groningen, Uppsala, Montpellier and Harvard
Academic Service & Teaching
Academic Service & Teaching
Academic Service
- Editorial Board: Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2010-2013 and 2015-2021); BMC Evolutionary Biology (2015-2018)
- Reviewer for Scientific Journals: Evolution, Ecology, Am Nat, Evol Lett, Proc R Soc B, Mol Ecol, Funct Ecol, Biol Lett, BMC Biology, Mol Biol Evol, Sci Total Environ, Environ Pollut, Int J Parasitol, J Anim Ecol, Mol Phylogenet Evol, Limnol Oceanogr, Oecologia, Oikos, Biol Invasions, FEMS Microbiol Ecol, Freshw Biol, STOTEN, Chemosphere, Environ Pollut, J Hazard Mater, Ecotoxicology, Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, Aquat Toxicol, PLoS ONE, Evol Ecol, Ecol Res, BMC Ecology, Parasitology, Dis Aquat Org, J Eukaryot Microbiol, Aquat Biol, Aquat Ecol, Aquat Sci, Hydrobiologia, J Term Biol, Zoology, J Parasitol, Arch Hydrobiol, Acta Zool, Acta Zool Acad Sci Hung, Sensors, Trop Biomed. See also my Publons Account Metrics (account maintained since 2017)
- Reviewer for Funding Agencies: National Science Foundations (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Poland and USA), Humboldt Foundation (Germany), National Geographic Society (USA), Graduate Women in Science (USA)
Teaching at Freie Universität Berlin (FU)
Teaching Award (2023) by the students of Freie Universität Berlin
Experimental and Theoretical Evolutionary Ecology (MSc level) – lecture, seminar and practical classes
Biotic Interactions in a Changing World (MSc level) – lecture and seminar
Introduction to Advanced Biology (MSc level) - lecture