Karin Glaser

Karin Glaser, currently a Junior Professor at the Institute of Biosciences, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, leads the Biology / Ecology Working Group. Her career spans roles at the University of Rostock and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, focusing on biological soil crusts (biocrusts) and their ecological functions.

• Diploma in Biology (University of Leipzig, 2008)
• PhD in Monitoring Diversity Patterns of Active Flagellate Taxa (University of Leipzig, 2016)

Her research integrates soil analysis and biodiversity to develop modern molecular methods (NGS) for ecological questions, emphasizing microbial diversity in biological soil crusts through cultivation-dependent and -independent techniques. She explores biocrust renaturation potential in post-mining landscapes.

Awards include the 2019 Biocrust 4 Best Poster Award, 2018 P-Campus Outstanding Publication Award, and the 2017 Max-Buchner-Forschungsstiftung Stipendium. Her publications highlight biocrusts in coastal dunes, polar regions, and potash tailings, with studies on stress tolerance, EPS production, and microbial community assembly.

Current projects like DuneCrusts (funded by Rudolf und Helene Glaser-Stiftung) and Crustfunction III (DFG SPP 1374) focus on biocrust biodiversity and land-use drivers. She collaborates on DFG SPP 1991 Taxonomics for algal taxonomic diversity.

Her work has been featured in public platforms like Informationsdienst Wissenschaft e.V. and Nordmagazin NDR, emphasizing biocrust applications in ecological restoration and scientific outreach.