Date of birth:
December 25, 1960 in Linz, Austria

Marital status:
married to Margit Sturmbauer (Müllner) since 1984, two daughters

Education
1971-1979: High school (Gymnasium der Jesuiten, Aloisianum, in Linz)

1979-1990: Studies at the University of Innsbruck (Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences)

1986: Graduation to "Magister der Naturwissenschaften" (Masters degree) with excellence

1988-1989: "Zivildienst" at the Red Cross Innsbruck (equivalent to military service)

1990: Graduation to "Doktor der Naturwissenschaften" (Ph-D) with excellence

Masters Thesis
Die Auswirkungen von Inhibitoren im Weizenkorn auf die Darm-Amylase von Karpfen und Forelle im in-vitro-Experiment (The effects of inhibitor proteins in wheat on the activity of intestinal amylase in carp and trout in in-vitro experiments).Department of Zoology, Section of Ecophysiology, University of Innsbruck. 1984.

Ph.D. Thesis
Vergleichende Untersuchungen zur Physiologie und Ethologie herbivorer Fische (Comparative physiology and ethology of herbivorous fishes) Department of Zoology, Section of Ecophysiology, University of Innsbruck. 1990.

Habilitation Thesis
Molekulare versus phänotypische Evolution: Ökomorphologische Diversifizierung und Artentstehung. Submitted October 1997 at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Innsbruck. Promotion to „Universitätsdozent“ (Associate Professor) in the biological disciplines Zoology and Evolutionary Biology in April 1998.


Positions held to Date
1984-1990: Research assistantships at the Department of Ecophysiology, University of
Innsbruck.

1991-1992: Postdoctoral position at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, State
University of New York at Stony Brook, U.S.A., at Prof. Axel Meyer.

1992-1993: Postdoctoral position at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, State
University of New York at Stony Brook, with Prof. Jeffrey Levinton.

1993-1995: "Vertragsassistent" (Research Assistant Professor) at the Department of
Zoology and Limnology, University of Innsbruck. Head of the Molecular Evolutionary Biology Laboratory.

1995-1998: "Universitätsassistent" (Assistant Professor) at the Department of Zoology and
Limnology, University of Innsbruck.

1998-2001: "Universitätsdozent“ (Associate Professor, A. Univ. Prof.) at the Department of
Zoology and Limnology, University of Innsbruck.

2002-2004: Full Professor for Zoology at the Department of Zoology and Head of the Section Biodiversity and Evolution, Karl-Franzens-University of Graz.

2004 - Head of the Department of Zoology, Karl-Franzens-University of Graz.


Research Grants received
1992: Research Grant from The Guy Jordan Endowment Fund of the American Cichlid Association. "The Evolution of Mouthbrooding in cichlid fishes of Lake Tanganyika".

May 1994: Research Grant from the German Ornithological Society "Molecular
Phylogeny of the Kinglets, of the Songbird Family Regulidae" (PI).

Oct. 1995: Research Grant from the German Ornithological Society "Molecular
Phylogeny and phylogeography of the Paläarctic Tits (Paridae)". PI Prof. J. Martens, University of Mainz, Germany.

1993-1997: Research Grant from the Austrian Science Foundation P 9669-BIO, “The Genetic Basis of Zinc Resistance in the Aquatic Oligochaete Species Tubifex tubifex“, Co-Applicant, PI: A. Univ. Prof. Dr. R. Dallinger.

July 1996: Investigator in the Research Grant of the Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen
Nationalbank No. 6058 “Populationsgenetik und Speziation von Buntbarschen durch automatisierte Genetische Analysen“ as Co-Applicant with. Univ. Prof. Dr. Reinhard Rieger.

Nov. 1997: Research Grant of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) P 12339-GEN - “Molecular and Ecological Aspects of Speciation“ as PI.

July 1998: Research Grant of the Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen Nationalbank -
“Mitochondrial Phylogeny and Phylogeographic structure of the mediterranean erciform families Sparidae and Labridae“ as PI.

Oct. 2001: Grant No. P15239 of the Austrian Research Fund (FWF) “Molecular
Genetics of Explosive Speciation” as PI.

June 2003: Grant of the Commission of Interdisciplinary Ecological Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences “Validierung der ökologischen Nischendifferenzierung unterschiedlicher Coregonenformen im Larvenstadium
durch Integration molekulargenetischer Analysen“ as PI

June 2004 2 grants of the Tyrolean Fisheries Society „Entwicklung genetischer Marker aus dem Kern-Genom zur Charakterisierung der Äschenpopulationen im Tiroler Inn und in der Drau“ as PI.

June 2004 Research grant of the State of Lower Austria, Fisheries Association of Lower Austria and the Ministry of Agriculture, “TROUTCHECK – Renaturation of brown trout populations in Lower Austria” as PI.
of the Strate of Lower Austria, the Fisheries Association of Lower Austria and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water as Co-PI.

Sept. 2005 Grant the Commission of Interdisciplinary Ecological Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences to organize the 2005 Kerner von Marilaun Workshop “Demonstration of natural selection by quantitative trait variation
analysis” in Graz, Austria.

Dec. 2004 Grant No. 17680-B06 of the Austrian research Fund (FWF) – “The role of divergent natural selection in the adaptive radiation of Lake Tanganyika and Malawi fishes” as PI.

June 2005 Research grant of the State of Styria “TROUTCHECK Styria– Renaturation of brown trout populations in Styria”, as Co-PI.

Oct. 2005 ESF EuroDiversity project 05_EDIV_FP237-MOLARCH - Molecular archives of climatic history: exploring patterns of genomic differentiation in endemic species radiations of ancient lakes (MOLARCH).

March 2007 Grant No.2007-04 of the Commission of Interdisciplinary Ecological Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences “Allometry in a growing cichlid fish hybrid population”, as PI.

Nov. 2008 Grant No. P20994-B03 of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) – “Natural
selection: driving force of adaptive radiation”, as PI.


Review and Editorial Service
Austrian Academy of Science, Austrian National Bank, ÖAD, Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, NATO, Natural Environment Research Council Great Britain, WOTRO Holland, US National Science Foundation.

Copeia, Advances in Limnology, Journal of Theoretical Biology,
Advances in Limnology, Marine Biology P. S. Z. N., Marine Biology,
Molecular Biology and Evolution, Journal of Molecular Evolution,
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Marine and Freshwater
Research, Journal of Fish Biology, Proceedings of the Royal Society London, Heredity, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA.

Since 2008 Member of the scientific board for the commission for the
use of genetically engeneered organisms of the Autrian Ministry of Health (Wissenschaftlicher Ausschuss für Arbeiten mit gentechnisch veränderten Organismen in geschlossenen Systemen).

Member of the Editorial Board of Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research and Hydrobiologia.

Since 2003 member of the “Commission for Interdisciplinary Ecological Studies” of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (KIÖS).

Since 2005 member of the scientific board of the Austrian Science Foundation (FWF) for biology (Fachreferent für Biologie und Mitglied des Kuratoriums).

Since 2007 consultant of the scientific board and the search committee of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Maria Gugging.

Since May 2008 Corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Recent Meetings attended
Feb. 2001 International Symposium on Ecological Genetics in Antwerp, Belgium:
(invited talk).

July 2001 Annual Meetings of the American Society of Ichthyologists and
Herpetologists in State College, The Pennsylvania State University
(invited talk).

June 2002 Meeting on Molecular Evolution of the ISME and SMBE in Sorrento, Italy.

August 2003 Aquatic Biodiversity: Past, Present and Future of Hydrobiologia in the honour
of Henri J.Dumont in Antwerp, Belgium (invited talk).

Sept. 2003 Cichlid Symposium 2003 – Evolution, Diversification and Speciation at
Sokendai, Hayama, Japan (invited talk).

Sept. 2003 Cichlid Workshop 2003 at Karuizawa, Japan (invited talk).

Feb. 2005 International Symposium on Ecological Genetics in Antwerp, Belgium
(invited talk).

May 2005 Aquarama – The 4th World Conference on Ornamental Fish Aquaculture;
Scientific Workshop in Singapore (invited talk).

Sept. 2006 International Symposium “Speciation in Ancient Lakes, SIAL 4” in Berlin.
Key note talk: The dynamics of adaptive radiation – Lake Tanganyika cichlid
fishes as model for explosive speciation (3 posters).

March 2007 2007 Annual Symposium of the British Ecological Society: Speciation and
Ecology” (2 posters).

March 2009 Symposium “Biodiversity Hotspots – Evolution and Conservation” National
Museum of Natural History Luxembourg, invited key note talk.

Organisation of International Meetings

May 1999: Tagung der Deutschen Zoololischen Gesellschaft in Innsbruck, Austria
Organisation of the session “Chancen und Grenzen der Molekularen Systematik“ (Power and limitations of molecular systematics) and of the satellite symposium “Molecular Methods in Biological Research“.

Aug. 1999: Meeting of the European Society of Evolutinary Biology (ESEB) in Barcelona, Spain: Organisation of the Symposium „Evolution of Species Flocks in East African Cichlid Fishes: The Challenge of integrating
Studies on Molecular Phylogeny, Behaviour, Morphology and Ecology".

Sept. 2005 Kerner von Marilaun Workshop 2005 of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
“Demonstration of natural selection by quantitative trait variation analysis” in Graz, Austria.