Hossein Rajaei

Dr. Hossein Rajaei is Head of the Entomology Department at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart (SMNS). His role combines curating the museum’s Lepidoptera collections with leading internationally recognized research on the systematics, phylogeny and biogeography of moths, especially the family Geometridae.

Education

• PhD, Zoological Research Museum Alexander König (ZFMK) / University of Bonn (2008–2012) – “Modules to the Biodiversity of the Geometridae of Iran (Lepidoptera) using classical methods and DNA techniques”
• M.Sc., Animal Biosystematics, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran (2002–2005)
• B.Sc., Biology (Zoology), Tehran University (1998–2002)

Research focus

His research integrates morphology, molecular genetics and phylogeography to unravel the diversity and evolutionary history of Lepidoptera, with a geographical emphasis on the Palearctic—especially Iran, the Caucasus, Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia. Major themes include integrative taxonomy, species delimitation, Quaternary refugia, and conservation biogeography.

Scientific awards & grants

• DAAD Doctoral Full-time Fellowship (2008–2012)
• Alexander-Koenig-Gesellschaft (AKG) Travel Awards (2011, 2013)
• Societas Europaea Lepidopterologica (SEL) Travel Awards (2011, 2013)
• EDIT (European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy) Travel Grant (2010)

Projects & collaborations

He currently leads the “Geometrid Moths of Southern Africa (GMSA)” and “Taxonomy, Biosystematics and Biogeography of Geometridae of Iran” projects, and has co-edited the landmark monograph The Geometrid Moths of Europe, Vol. 6. Active partnerships span more than 20 countries and numerous institutions worldwide.

Laboratory & teams

Rajaei supervises a multidisciplinary team of post-docs, PhD students and technicians within the Entomology Department at SMNS, maintaining state-of-the-art molecular and morphological labs and the globally significant Lepidoptera collections.