Projects

Click on the link to learn more about the projects. The classifications of the projects (Forschungsmodul, summerschool, BSc-thesis and MSc-thesis) are suggestive. If a project interests you for a Forschungsmodul but has a MSc-thesis classification, you are still strongly encouraged to contact the relevant supervisor to discuss the project.

Open Projects



Ongoing Projects



  • Chemosensory genes and mate perception in the viviparous cockroach /Diploptera punctata/
    • Supervisor: Bertrand Fouks
    • Project type: FoM / BSc


  • Are de novo genes real? Characterization of possible de novo genes from Homo sapiens (lab-based)
    • Supervisor: Andreas Lange
    • Project type: FM/BSc/MSc-thesis (students welcome)


  • The role of alternative splicing in the evolution of eusociality in Blattodea
    • Supervisor: Mark Harrison
    • Project type: FM/BSc/MSc-thesis


Previous Projects



  • Improving RADIANT
    • Supervisor: Carsten Kemena
    • Project type: BSc/Msc-thesis


  • Implementing porthoDom
    • Supervisor: Carsten Kemena
    • Project type: BSc


  • Genome annotation of slave-maker ants and their hosts for comparative analyses
    • Supervisor: Alice Séguret
    • Project type: MSc thesis


  • Development of a high-throughput assay to identify possible foldable de novo proteins
    • Supervisor: Margaux Aubel & Lars Eicholt
    • Project type: BA/FM


  • Chaperones - The holy grail for soluble expression of de novo proteins from D. melanogaster in E.coli? (lab-based)
    • Supervisor: Andreas Lange
    • Project type: FM/BSc/MSc-thesis (students welcome)


  • Adaptive Laboratory Evolution: Mapping Epistatic Mutations Within Ancestral Sulfatases
    • Supervisor: Berndjan Eenink
    • Project type: FoM/BSc-thesis


  • Adaptive Laboratory Evolution: Disentangling and Combining Mutations to Reveal Epistatic Effects
    • Supervisor: Bert van Loo
    • Project type: FoM/BSc/MSc-thesis


  • Identifying the transcriptional regulators of two insulin peptides, important in the development of termite queens.
    • Supervisor: Mark Harrison/Alice Séguret
    • Project type: FM/BSc/MSc-thesis


  • Does methylation target transposable elements in the termite Macrotermes natalensis?
    • Supervisor: Alice Séguret/Mark Harrison
    • Project type: FM


  • The evolution of gene network properties during slavemaker evolution
    • Supervisor: Alice Séguret
    • Project type: FM


  • The potential role of repeats in the evolution of slave-making
    • Supervisor: Alice Séguret
    • Project type: FM


  • Immunity gene family evolution in the European Beewolf
    • Supervisor: Evelien Jongepier
    • Project type: MSc project


  • Historical Enzyme Evolution: Emergence of Sulfatases in the Metallo-β-Lactamase Superfamily
    • Supervisor: Bert van Loo
    • Project type: FoM/BSc/MSc-thesis


  • Reading frame extension as potential domain emergence mechanism
    • Supervisors: Andreas Lange/Brennen Haemes
    • Project type: MSc-thesis


  • Evolution of RNA structure.
    • Supervisor: Jasmin Kurafeiski
    • Project type: FM/BSc/MSc


  • Effects of Epistasis on Transcription Factor Binding
    • Supervisor: Jasmin Kurafeiski
    • Project type: Summer School Project


  • Comparative analysis of chemoreceptors in cockroaches
    • Supervisor: Mark Harrison
    • Project type: MSc-thesis


  • Inference of C- and N-terminus protein extensions
    • Supervisor: April Kleppe
    • Project type: BSc-thesis


  • Evolution-Inspired Protein Engineering and Design: Learning from the Evolutionary History of Haloalcohol Dehalogenases?Comparative analysis of chemoreceptors in cockroaches
    • Supervisor: Bert van Loo
    • Project type: BSc-thesis


  • Evolution-Inspired Protein Engineering and Design: the Effect of Selection Pressure on Secondary Activities
    • Supervisor: Bert van Loo
    • Project type: FoM/BSc/MSc-thesis


  • Investigating proto-genic ORFs
    • Supervisor: Brennen Heames
    • Project type: Forschungsmodul


  • Creating a Benchmark for RADS
    • Supervisor: Carsten Kemena
    • Project type: BSc-thesis


  • Fast domain annotation
    • Supervisor: Carsten Kemena
    • Project type: Forschungsmodul


  • New Proteins out of Thin Air?
    • Supervisor: Jonathan Schmitz
    • Project type: BSc-thesis


  • Evolutionary rate of novel genes
    • Supervisor: Jonathan Schmitz
    • Project type: Forschungsmodul


  • Evolution-Inspired Protein Engineering and Design: Learning from the Evolutionary History of Haloalkane Dehalogenases?
    • Supervisor: Bert van Loo
    • Project type: BSc-thesis


  • Identifying regulatory elements associated with de novo genes
    • Supervisor: Brennen Heames
    • Project type: Summer School Project


  • Genomic adaptations in the Wolbachia endosymbiont of the European beewolf
    • Supervisor: Evelien Jongepier
    • Project type: Forschungsmodule


  • The genomics of enemy recognition in the slaves of slavemaker ants
    • Supervisor: Evelien Jongepier
    • Project type: MSc


  • Domain-Exon Overlap
    • Supervisor: Carsten Kemena
    • Project type: Forschungsmodule


  • Partial Domain inclusion into Dogma
    • Supervisor: Carsten Kemena
    • Project type: Forschungsmodule


  • Are de novo genes real? Characterization of possible de novo drosophila genes (lab-based)
    • Supervisor: Andreas Lange
    • Project type: FM/BSc/MSc-thesis


  • Finding de novo genes in human populations
    • Supervisor: Daniel Dowling
    • Project type: Forschungsmodule


  • Testing the evolutionary theory of ageing on eusocial insects
    • Supervisor: Mark Harrison
    • Project type: FM/MSc-thesis


  • Atlas - a de novo gene important for spermatogenesis in male Drosophila melanogaster? (lab-based)
    • Supervisor: Andreas Lange
    • Project type: FM/BSc