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



  • Expression, purification and analysis of putative de novo proteins


    • Ongoing Projects



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


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


    • 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)


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


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


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


    Previous Projects



    • 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