Activities in the Research System
Institutional responsibilities
| 2019 – 2021 | Dean, Division (Fachbereich) of Biology/Chemistry/Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin |
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| 2015 – | Founder, Coordinator of Doctoral Program ‘Biodiversity, Evolution, Ecology’ at Freie Universität Berlin |
| 2015 – 2019 | Dean of Research, Division (Fachbereich) of Biology/Chemistry/Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin |
| 2015 – | Member of Council, Division (Fachbereich) of Biology/Chemistry/Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin |
| 2013 – 2020 | Co-Coordinator, Integrated Research Training School Biocommunication: Mechanisms and consequences of information storage and retrieval in plants and microbes, Berlin/ Potsdam |
| 2012 – | Member, Faculty Committee on Teaching and Education (Biology), Freie Universität Berlin |
| 2012 – | Head, Admissions Committee, and Coordination of MSc Program ‘Biodiversity, Evolution, Ecology’ at Freie Universität Berlin |
Reviewing activities/ commissions of trust
| 2024 – | Member, DFG (German Research Foundation) Permanent Senate Commission on the Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems |
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| 2021 – | Member, DFG (German Research Foundation) Permanent Senate Commission on Fundamental Issues of Biological Diversity |
| 2021 – | Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment |
| 2020 | Member, DFG Early Career Scientists Academy ‘Agroecosystems 2020 |
| 2015 – 2024 | Member, BioMove DFG Research Training Group |
| 2014 – 2017 | Scientific Advisory Board, member; Platform for biodiversity, ecosystem monitoring and research in South Ecuador, Marburg, Germany |
| 2013 – | Board, chair; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Berlin |
| 2012 - 2023 | Scientific Advisory Board, Collaborative Research Center ‘Priming and Memory of Organismal Responses to Stress’, Berlin |
| 2010 – | Scientific Advisory Board, member; Berlin Center for Genomics in Biodiversity Research, Berlin |
| 2010 – 2014 | Editorial Board, PLoS One |
| 2009 – 2018 | Scientific Advisory Board, member; Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences, Berlin |
| 2008 – 2021 | Editorial Board, Ecology and Ecological Monographs |
| 2004 – 2014 | Editor-in-Chief, Pedobiologia – International Journal of Soil Biology; since 2014 continuing as member of Editorial Board |
Academic Distinctions
| 2025 | Distinguished Scientist, Chinese Acadamy of Sciences |
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| 2025 | Fellow, Theoretical Sciences Visiting Program, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan |
| 2022 | Elected Member, Academia Europaea – The Academy of Europe |
| 2021 | Elected Member, German National Academy of Science - Leopoldina |
| 2019 | Elected Fellow, Ecological Society of America |
| 2018- | Clarivate Analytics ‘Highly Cited’ Researcher (2017-2022) |
| 2016 | Dahlem Research School (FU Berlin), Award for Excellent Supervision of PhD students |
| 2016 | ERC Advanced Grant |
| 2012 | Elected Full Member, iDiv – German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany |
| 1989 – 1997 | German National Merit Scholarship (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes) |