Silke Laakmann

Dr. Silke Laakmann is a Senior Scientist at the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) at the University of Oldenburg, Germany. She leads the Plankton Ecology Project Group, focusing on marine biodiversity, ecology, and molecular species identification techniques.

Education:

• Biology, University of Frankfurt am Main (1998–2000)
• Biology, University of Bremen (2000–2005)
• PhD in Biology, University of Bremen (2005–2009)

Her research integrates traditional and molecular methods to study biodiversity patterns in coastal and open ocean ecosystems, with emphasis on zooplankton, environmental DNA, and marine fauna. Recent projects include HABBAL-2 and CREATE-2, addressing harmful algal blooms and anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems.

Grants & Projects:

• BMBF collaborative projects (2024–2027): HABBAL-2, CREATE-2
• EXIST Business Start-up Grant (2017–2018)
• DFG project (2022–2026): Microbialite connectivity studies

Contact: silke.laakmann@hifmb.de | +49 471 4831-2566