Jan Engelstaedter

Associate Professor Jan Engelstaedter is affiliated with the School of the Environment at The University of Queensland. He holds an Associate Professorship and a PhD from University College London. His research focuses on evolutionary biology, particularly the interplay between sexual processes and parasitism. Key areas include reproductive parasites like Wolbachia, bacterial recombination dynamics, host-parasite coevolution, and parthenogenesis in animals. He leads the Engelstädter Lab, which combines mathematical modeling with experimental and field studies.

His work has been supported by grants such as the ARC Future Fellowship and multiple ARC Discovery Projects. He has supervised numerous PhD and Master’s students, including those investigating antibiotic resistance, Wolbachia host shifts, and microbial community dynamics. Notable publications address topics like Wolbachia infection patterns, the evolution of antibiotic resistance, and genetic networks underlying adaptation.

Engelstaedter’s lab is actively involved in projects funded by the CRC-SAAFE initiative, exploring antimicrobial resistance in agriculture and ecosystems. His research bridges theoretical models with empirical studies, contributing to understanding evolutionary mechanisms in microbial and host-pathogen systems.