Anja Schulze

Anja Schulze is a Professor and Assistant Department Head of Graduate Affairs in the Department of Marine Biology at Texas A&M University at Galveston, within the College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies. She maintains an active research program focused on marine invertebrates, particularly polychaete and sipunculan worms, and teaches courses in marine invertebrate biology and evolutionary biology.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Biology, University of Victoria, Canada, 2001
• B.S. in Biology, University of Bielefeld, Germany, 1995

Dr. Schulze's research focuses on phylogeny, species delimitation, and geographic population structuring of marine invertebrates, with particular emphasis on marine annelids including polychaete and sipunculan worms. She employs morphological, reproductive, developmental, genomic, and transcriptomic approaches to investigate evolutionary relationships, adaptation to habitats, and dispersal mechanisms. Her work spans from shallow-water environments to deep-sea ecosystems, including studies on larval biology and the effects of environmental stressors like hypoxia and ocean acidification.

Dr. Schulze has published extensively on marine invertebrate evolution, with recent work focusing on sipunculan biodiversity, fireworm physiology under hypoxic conditions, and deep-sea community ecology. Her publications reveal a consistent research trajectory examining the evolutionary relationships and adaptive strategies of marine annelids across diverse environments.

Dr. Schulze has successfully mentored numerous graduate students through completion of their degrees, including multiple Ph.D. and M.S. students who have gone on to academic and research positions. Her lab has secured funding for research on marine invertebrate evolution, biodiversity, and responses to environmental stressors. Current projects include studies on non-native polychaete species in Galveston Bay and the impacts of environmental factors on heat shock protein expression.

Dr. Schulze leads the Marine Invertebrate Lab at Texas A&M University at Galveston, which focuses on polychaete and sipunculan worms. The lab has participated in collaborative research projects including the Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance (GIGA) and studies of deep-sea communities at cold seeps and hydrothermal vents. Her teaching includes Marine Invertebrate Zoology, Marine Evolutionary Biology, and Caribbean Marine Biology courses, with field components that provide students hands-on experience with marine invertebrate collection and identification.