• Master thesis at the Zoological Institute of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, Germany, title “Studie über arktische und antarktische Meereis-Ciliaten”.
• Doctoral thesis at the Institut für Hydrobiologie und Fischereiwissenschaft, Universität Hamburg, carried out at the Institut für Frischwasser- und Abwasserbiologie, Hamburg, Germany, title “Taxonomie und Ökologie ausgewählter planktischer und tychopelagischer Ciliaten (Protozoa, Ciliophora) des Speicherkoogs Dithmarschen und des Beltringharder Koogs”.
• Grant of the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Germany, for the investigation of planktonic ciliates in the coastal waters of the Island of Sylt and the development of a preliminary guide to the genera of aloricate Oligotrichea.
• Research assistant in FWF project of Wilhelm FOISSNER, “Soil ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from Namibia (Southwest Africa), with emphasis on two contrasting environments, the Etosha region and the Namib Desert” at the Institute for Zoology, University of Salzburg, Austria (http://www.fwf.ac.at/asp/projekt_res.asp).
• Grant of the Hertha-Firnberg-Foundation for the project “Marine planktonic ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from European coastal waters: a contribution to protozoan biodiversity” at the Institute for Zoology, University of Salzburg, Austria (http://www.fwf.ac.at/asp/projekt_res.asp).
• Leader of the FWF project “A revision of aloricate Oligotrichea (Ciliophora, Spirotricha), a group of ecologically important ciliates” at the Department of Organismal Biology, University of Salzburg, Austria.
• Leader of the FWF project “Tintinnina (Protozoa, Ciliophora, Spirotrichea) from Temperate and Subtropical Marine Waters: A Contribution to Protozoan Biodiversity” at the Department of Organismal Biology, University of Salzburg, Austria.
• Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Austria
• Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Austria
• Leader of the FWF project “New Phylogenetic Features in Oligotrichea (Ciliophora)” at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Austria.
• Leader of the FWF project, “Biodiversity and evolution of marine planktonic ciliates“, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Austria.
• Leader of the FWF project, “Lorica forming material in tintinnids (Ciliophora)”, Department of Environment & Biodiversity, University of Salzburg, Austria.
• National research partner of FWF project P 32714 of Thomas Weisse and David Montagnes, “Functional diversity of planktonic Ciliates”.
• National research partner of FWF project of Bettina SONNTAG, “Concert of trumpets: Next generation taxonomy of the ciliate Stentor”