Team

Staff

PROFESSORS

Vakgroep Biologie, Research group Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates   prof. dr. Dominique Adriaens

Group leader

Tel: +32 9 264.52.19

Anthony Herrel  prof. dr. Anthony Herrel

Guest professor - Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris)

Tel: +33 140.798.120

POSTDOCS

Mona Goharimanesh  drs. Mona Goharimanesh

Joint PhD Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

PHDs

Liesbeth Van Hauwermeiren  drs. Liesbeth Vanhauwermeiren

Joint PhD - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (UGent)

  drs. Dries Marzougui

Dries.Marzougui@UGent.be

Research group IDLab-AIRO

iGent Toren
Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 126, B-9052 Gent

Drs. Jana De Ridder

Jana De Ridder
Jana De Ridder

jana.deridder@ugent.be

Joint PhD Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

 

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

dr. Sandra Vangestel

Tel: +32 9 264.48.57

    mr. David Vander Haeghen

    Tel: +32 9 264.50.56

    • Courses: Biodiversity of Vertebrates, Teaching Methodology: Biology I & II, Teaching Biology: Practice-based Exercises

      mrs. Binke D'Haese

      Tel: +32 9 264.50.56

      • Publications: Biblio UGent
      • Courses: Teaching Methodology: Biology I & II, Teaching Biology: Practice-based Exercises

        mr. Arne Peleman

        Tel: +32 9 264.50.56

        • Courses: Teaching Methodology: Biology I & II, Teaching Biology: Practice-based Exercises

        mr. Pascal Casier

        Tel: +32 9 264.50.56

        • Courses: Teaching Methodology: Biology I & II, Teaching Biology: Practice-based Exercises

            TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

            mrs. Barbara De Kegel

            Tel: +32 9 264.53.00

            Technical staff

            mrs. Hilde Van Wynsberge

            Tel: +32 9 264.52.09

            Administrative staff

            mrs. Miranda Naert

            Tel: +32 9 264.52.78

            Practical course manager

            mr. Jürgen Verstraeten

            Tel: +32 9 264.51.18

            Technical staff

            Students

            Master students

            Arne Verdonck

            MSc in Biology

            • Project: Seahorse bio-inspiration: understanding how tissues behave opens up application opportunities (project link)
            • Supervisor: Dominique Adriaens (co-supervision with Francis wyffels - Engineering Sciences)

            Tim Laebens

            MSc in Biology

            • Project: The convergence of head shape across burrowing limbless tetrapods (project link)
            • Supervisor: Dominique Adriaens (co-supervision with Anthony Herrel, tutoring Aurélien Lowie)

            Alumni

            Former PhD students

            1         1999 – 2005             Stijn Devaere - “Taxonomy and evolutionary morphology of African catfishes (Clariidae): the roads to anguilliformity” – UGent (Promotor)(19/04/05).

            2         2001 – 2006             Tom Geerinckx - “Ontogeny and functional morphology of a highly specialized trophic apparatus: a case study of neotropical suckermouth armoured catfishes (Loricariidae, Siluriformes)” – UGent (Promotor) (08/12/06).

            3         2001 – 2007             Natalie De Schepper - “Evolutionary morphology of body elongation in teleosts: aspects of convergent evolution” – UGent (Promotor) (07/05/07).

            4         2001 – 2008             Frank Huysentruyt - “Ontogenetische studie van de kopstructuren bij Corydoras aeneus (Siluriformes, Loricarioidea), met een bijdrage tot de fylogenie van de Loricarioidea” – UGent (Promotor) (01/02/08).

            5         2005 - 2010              Soheil Eagderi - “Morphological phylogeny of Anguilliformes and Saccopharyngiformes” - Teheran University, Iran-UGent (Promotor) (31/08/2010).

            6         2006 - 2011              Heleen Leysen - “Evolutionary morphology of the extremely specialized feeding apparatus in seahorses and pipefishes (Syngnathidae)” - UGent (promotor) (11/03/2011).

            7         2007 - 2011              Fatemeh Tabatabaei Yazdi - “Patterns of variation in skull phenotypes in Meriones from the Iranean region, in relation to species and environmental-geographical diversity” – UGent (promoter) (28/02/2011).

            8         2008 – 2011             Annelies Genbrugge – “Evolutionary morphology of the trophic apparatus in Darwin finches: a case study on adaptive evolution of complex musculoskeletal systems” – Joint PhD UA-UGent (promotor UGent) (18/05/2011).

            9         2003 – 2012             Paul Van Daele - “Chromosomale en morfologische evolutie bij sociale molratten (Cryptomys - Bathyergidae)” – UGent (Promotor) (14/03/2012).

            10      2008 – 2012             Emilie Descamps – “Phenotyping of craniofacial deformations in vertebrate model organisms: Analysis and visualisation tools of abnormal development resulting from defects in cell signalling and adhesion” – UGent (promoter) (04/05/2012).

            11      2012 – 2013             Mahdi Rajabizadeh - Biodiversity of the Snakes in Northern and Western Mountains of Iran, with Special Emphasis on Biodiversity in Colubroids – UGent (promotor) (17/12/2013).

            12      2011 – 2016             Céline Neutens – Transforming tails into tools: from evolutionary morphology of prehensile tails in syngnathid fishes to exploring bio-inspiration potentials – UGent (promotor, M. De Beule co-promotor) (21/06/2016).

            13      2012 – 2017             Mathias Bouilliart – Ontogeny and feeding performance of the enigmatic Anguilla leptocephalus larva: a morphological and biomechanical study – UGent (promotor) (31/03/2017).

            14        2006 - 2008        Milica Ristovska - “Early development of the cranial and postcranial structures of Salmo letnica (Karaman, 1924) (Teleostei: Salmonidae). Constructional-morphological approach to the ontogeny of the cranial “Bauplan” - ("Sv. Ciril and Methodij" University, Republic of Macedonia - co-promotor) (24/01/08).

            15         2008 – 2013         Tomas Praet – “The biomechanical structure of the seahorse tail as a source of inspiration for industrial design” – Faculty of Engineering and Architecture UGent (co-promotor) (28/05/2013).

            16         2007 – 2017         Spyros Nikolakakis – “Analysis of size and shape in early larval stages of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax): egg disinfection, axenity and bacterial load” – Faculty of Bio-engineering UGent (co-promotor). (8/12/2017).

            17         2013 – 2017          Jens De Meyer – From patterns to implications of head shape dimorphism on the complex life cycle of the European eel (Anguilla Anguilla) – UGent (promotor, C. Belpaire co-promotor) (30/05/2017).

            18          2012 – 2019        Thuong Phuc Nguyen – Nutrition and growth in gilthead seabream in relation to skeletal deformities – UGent (promotor, Patrick Sorgeloos co-promotor) (17/12/2019).

            19         2016 – 2021         Allison Luger – Evolution of prehensile tail systems in vertebrates – UGent (promotor, A. Herrel co-promotor) (21/01/2021)

            Former Postdocs

            1. Dr. Tom Geerinckx
            2. Dr. Paul Van Daele
            3. Dr. Anabela Maia
            4. Dr. Edina Prondvai
            5. Dr. Jens De Meyer