Maja Adamska

Associate Professor Maja Adamska is a Group Leader and Associate Professor in the Research School of Biology at the Australian National University (ANU). She leads Program 3 in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and has held previous roles as a Group Leader at the Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology in Norway. Her research focuses on the evolutionary origins of developmental processes in animals, particularly using calcareous sponges as model systems. Adamska's work bridges developmental biology, genomics, and evolutionary biology, investigating topics such as germ layer segregation, axial patterning, and major transitions in animal evolution like the emergence of multicellularity.

Education & Career:

• Bachelor's/Master's in Biology at Jagiellonian University (Kraków, Poland)
• PhD in Developmental Biology at the University of Cologne (Germany)
• Postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan and University of Queensland
• ARC Future Fellow at ANU since 2017

Research Interests:

• Genomic basis of morphological complexity
• Evolutionary origins of developmental processes
• Sponge and coral genomics
• Regeneration mechanisms in marine organisms

Key Contributions:

• Discovered conserved developmental pathways in sponges
• Advanced understanding of sponge-metazoan divergence
• Contributed to the Amphimedon queenslandica genome project

Awards:

• ARC Future Fellowship (2017–present)

Lab & Collaborations:

• Adamska Group (Genomic and Evolutionary Basis of Animal Development)
• Collaborations with global marine biology networks