Madeléne Vaessen, BSc

Room 513

Madelene.Vaessen@student.uibk.ac.at

After having finished my bachelor’s degree at the University of Vienna, I moved to Innsbruck in September 2021. I love spending time in the mountains in both summer and winter. Always interested to learn more about our surrounding environment, I am fascinated how different creatures work and live together.

My master tesis, which began in October 2023 and is part of a project together with Sigrid Neuhauser, Martin Kirchmair, and Katharina Russ (all: Department of Microbiology at our university), offers me the unique opportunity to explore the symbiotic relationship between ants and fungi more deeply. Specifically, my research focuses on three core fungi isolated by Katharina Russ from the carton nests of the ant Lasius fuliginosus, as well as Heterobasidion annosum. My objective is a comprehensive understanding of how these different fungal species coexist.

Research topics:
Biodiversity
Ecology and evolution of symbioses
Microbial cultivation