Wörheide Gert

Prof. Dr. Gert Wörheide is a leading academic in the field of Palaeontology & Geobiology. He holds the Chair of Palaeontology and Geobiology at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and serves as Director of the Bavarian State Collections of Palaeontology and Geology. He is Speaker of the GeoBio-Center LMU and has held leadership roles as Dean and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Geosciences at LMU Munich.

• Education
  • PhD in Geosciences (Doctor rerum naturalium, summa cum laude), Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (1998)
  • Diplom (MSc) in Geology/Paleontology, Freie Universität Berlin (1994)

His research focuses on molecular geobiology, palaeobiology, and biomineralization of marine organisms, particularly sponges. He integrates molecular biology tools with fossil record data to study biodiversity, evolution, and phylogenomics of non-bilaterian animals. His work also addresses the evolution of biomineralization processes in marine invertebrates.

Prof. Wörheide’s lab has received significant funding, including DFG grants FlaGShiP, Sponge TaxonOMICS, and MINORCA, as well as coordination of the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN IGNITE (2018-2021). His recent projects explore sponge morphology in the phylogenomic era and molecular mechanisms of biomineralization.

• Scientific Awards
  • 1998 Inge und Werner Grüter Prize for Scientific Journalism (for contributions to coral reef awareness)
  • 1998 Book prize of the Faculty of Geosciences, Göttingen

He supervises PhD students like Killian Smith (DFG-funded), Ramon Rivera (IGNITE ITN), Luis Porras (IGNITE ITN), and Lena Wilde (DFG). His lab, the Molecular Geo- & Palaeobiology Lab at LMU, collaborates internationally and hosts research groups studying sponge evolution, genomics, and biodiversity.