Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Germany

My Research Interests

As an analytical chemist, I am specialized in the detection of organic trace compounds by tandem mass spectrometry and interested in secondary metabolites of algae and chemical signalling of plankton in marine chemical ecology. Furthermore, I am specialized in the detection of phycotoxins, including development of new detection techniques, implementation of advanced LC-MS/MS methods on-board ship and search and discovery of new algal toxins as well as their producing organisms.

My Objectives in CoastCarb

Within CoastCarb I will investigate, together with plankton specialists, the contribution of harmful algal bloom (HAB) species in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic plankton communities and the occurrence of their associated phycotoxins. This work will setup a baseline for prediction of potential shift of plankton composition towards higher proportions of toxic species under a global warming scenario and their impact on the marine food web.