Dongik Chang

Dongik Chang is a doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, affiliated with the Department of Insect Symbiosis. His work addresses the interface of host-symbiont interactions in the grain beetle Prostephanus truncatus, supervised by Prof. Dr. Martin Kaltenpoth, Dr. Anna Zaidman-Remy, Dr. Veit Grabe, and Dr. Tobias Engl.

• PhD Thesis started in 2022

Education:

• B.Sc. in Environmental Health Science, Seoul, Republic of Korea
• M.S. in Evolution, Ecology, and Systematics, Jena, Germany

Research Focus: Dongik investigates the dynamics of ancient bacterial endosymbionts in grain beetles, emphasizing RNA/protein exchange for metabolic functions. His work combines fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), high-resolution microscopy, microCT scanning, and electron microscopy to explore symbiotic cooperation and host-symbiont coadaptation.

Awards:

• IMPRS Presentation Award (2025) for his talk on interdependent symbionts in beetles
• Best Oral Presentation Award (2024) at the 'Symbiosis in context' symposium

Contact:
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Hans-Knöll-Straße 8, 07745 Jena, Thüringen, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)3641 57-1563