My overall research interest is comparative developmental biology of animals. My main interests are how animal development has changed during evolution and how these changes affect the adult morphology. I investigate this subject - which is often referred to as "evo-devo" - on different levels and in diverse animal taxa. Since the proper knowledge of how animals are phylogenetically related is the key to interpreting evolutionary changes, I try to unravel their phylogenetic relationships with modern phylogenomic methods, as well as morphological data matrices.

A fundamental aspect of evo-devo is the proper description of animal development to identify characters that have undergone evolutionary change. To achieve this, I use modern imaging methods such as 4D-microscopy (3D-time lapse microscopy), cell lineage tracers, as well as molecular tools like in situ hybridization to investigate animal development on the levels of morphogenesis, cell lineage and gene expression.

Additionally, my goal is to investigate the function of cells and genes during development of different taxa in order to learn how their function has changed in evolution. My main focus here is to study the function of important developmental genes in an acoel flatworm, which represent the earliest branch of the Bilateria. Their phylogenetic position enables one to study the evolution and development of the main features of the Bilateria - mesoderm, nervous system and axial properties. I am also interested in establishing other animal taxa for a functional approach, e.g. the rotifer Philodina roseola and the gastrotrich Lepidodermella squamata.