Bachelor Biology, UHasselt
Master Biology, Gent University

Joined the group in February 2013

Research project: Morphology and evolution in the Schizorhynchia, a clade of meiobenthic flatworms.

I am studying a little-known group of marine flatworms called Schizorhynchia. Despite being a common component of the marine meiobenthos they have received little attention from the scientific community. Recent phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial dna sequences have shown that the traditional, morphology-based classification of the Schizorhynchia often does not accurately reflect the evolutionary relationships within the group. This project aims at constructing a more accurate phylogeny using sequence data from multiple genes and building a formal taxonomy based thereon. In addition, we will map changes in these animals’ morphology, particularly that of the genital apparatus and proboscis, onto the new Schizorhynch phylogeny.

My favorite quote: “You certainly usually find something, if you look, but is not always quite the something you were after.” –J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

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