Meet Our Scientists

We are fascinated by the endless diversity of life. Our aim is to enable citizen scientists to be directly involved in new biodiversity discoveries. With traditional naturalist methods and modern DNA and cyber-biology tools, we will contribute to the knowledge of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and aid in their conservation.

DR. MENNO SCHILTHUIZEN

Co-founder of Taxon Expedtions

Menno Schilthuizen is a senior researcher at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, and professor of evolution and biodiversity at Leiden University, the Netherlands. For seven years, he lived and worked in Malaysian Borneo, where he helped set up the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation. He published more than 100 papers in scientific journals including Nature and Science. His work focuses on evolution and biodiversity, mostly in insects and snails and mostly in Borneo, the Mediterranean, and the Netherlands. Schilthuizen is also active in science popularization. He has published four books for the general public, most recently: Nature’s Nether Regions (Penguin, 2014) and Darwin Comes to Town (Quercus Books, 2018). He is also a regular contributor to magazines such as TimeNew Scientistthe Huffington Post, and the New York Times.

To contact Menno, visit his homepage, Studio Schilthuizen

DR. IVA NJUNJIĆ

Co-founder and co-director of Taxon Expeditions

Iva Njunjić is a biospeleologist (or: cave-biologist) working on evolution of cave beetles. She obtained her PhD from the Paris-Sorbonne University and has worked at the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, the University of Novi Sad, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, and the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. She is a National Geographic Explorer and TEDx speaker. In her twelve years’ of experience studying caves in the Balkans and Borneo, Njunjić explored more than 300 caves, and has published scientific papers on the bizarre spider-like cave beetles of southern Europe. Her work has been featured in international media like the Guardian and Live Science. Some of her cave explorations were captured in videos that can be viewed here and here and new species that she described were listed among Top ten species described in 2016.

Contact Iva via iva.enco@gmail.com

 

DR. HENDRIK FREITAG 

Professor of Invertebrate Zoology

A Full Professor at the Ateneo de Manila University where he leads the Ecology and Systematics Research Cluster and serves as country coordinator of the international Biodiversity Teaching Network BIO-PHIL”. For almost 20 years, he has been working on aquatic insects, especially water beetles, but also freshwater crabs. He also coordinates sustainable land-use projects with Rainforestation Farming in Key Biodiversity Areas of the Philippines and organizes Aquatic Biodiversity Workshops and conferences almost every year.

His research results attracted renowned media such as National Geographicthe Guardian or the science curiosity TV show Matanglawin of ABS-CBN Philippines. From 2009 to 2013 he was board chairman of the Phyllodrom Rainforest Museum Leipzig where he is still active. Currently, he serves as lead author for the Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific of the UN-driven Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

 
 

DR. MASSIMO DELLEDONNE

Professor of Genetics

Massimo Delledonne is Full Professor of Genetics at Universita’ degli Studi di Verona. He manages a vigorous research program that emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to understanding plant and human biology. His own expertise is in the areas of genetics, molecular biology and genomics, and collaborates with researchers in diverse fields, including bioinformatics, microbiology and plant genomics, and medicine.

He is co-founder and scientific director of Personal Genomics S. R. L., a spin-off of University of Verona established in 2011 that operates in the field of human genomics and personalized medicine.

DR. CARIN BONDAR

 

TV biologist from Animal Planet

Carin Bondar has a PhD in biology from the University of British Columbia. Her fieldwork took her to the forests of British Columbia and New Zealand where she studied small stream ecosystems.

In addition to being an adjunct professor of biology at The University of the Fraser Valley, she is the writer and host of the web series Wild Sex that has garnered over 60 million views. Her TED talk on the same topic has reached an audience of over 2.3 million. Wild Sexher book based on the series (Pegasus USA), was released in 2016 and her next book Wild Moms is due to be released on Mother’s Day 2018. Dr. Bondar can be seen on a variety of television and web series including Outrageous Acts of Science on the Discovery Channel and Stephen Hawking’s Brave New World on National Geographic. She is also the host of World Oddest Animal Couples, (Netflix, Animal Planet).

Bondar’s main website is www.carinbondar.com.

 
 
 

DR. ANDREW QUITMEYER

Media Engineer

Dr. Andrew Quitmeyer is a hacker adventurer studying intersections between wild animals and computational devices. He left his job as a tenure track professor at the National University of Singapore to start his own Field Station Makerspace in Gamboa Panama: Digital Naturalism Laboratories. Here he blends biological fieldwork and DIY digital crafting with a community of scientists, artists, designers, and engineers from around the world. He runs mobile workshops called “Hiking Hacks” where participants build interactive technology in outdoor, natural contexts. The Digital Naturalism Conference is his research’s largest event, pulling in over 100 participants annually from all fields to collaborate on finding new ways of interacting with nature. His research also inspired a silly spin-off international television series he starred in for Discovery Networks called “Hacking the Wild.”

MSc PETER KOOMEN

Spider expert

Peter Koomen studied biology at Leiden University and worked in the fields of science popularization, taxonomy, spider recording, nature conservation, and macro photography. He is now head of collections of the Frisian Museum of Natural History and president of the Netherlands Entomological Society. Peter has a passion to share for spiders and other arthropods, especially SE-Asian jumping spiders. “Spiders are among the most beautiful creatures on earth, but nobody seems to realize it. Somebody should change that.” He tries to do so by giving lectures, organizing exhibitions, providing photos and information for books and websites, and contributing to television wildlife programs. And by acting as a guest instructor on our Dutch and Borneo expeditions.

 

DR. jan wieringa

Researcher of entomology and botany

Jan Wieringa is a researcher at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. He studies the taxonomy and ecology of a wide variety of organisms both in the Tropics and in Europe, including the trees of Gabon, the grasshoppers and crickets of south and central Europe, and the beetles and bugs of the Netherlands. He is also very active in making biodiversity data available online via citizen science platforms. You will meet Jan if you join our urban expeditions in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands.

DR. MATTY BERG

Professor of Soil Fauna

Matty Berg is a Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He studies the roles of invertebrate animals (especially woodlice, millipedes and centipedes, mites, and springtails) in the soil ecosystem. “What spurs me on,” he says, “is the question of what determines the diversity, composition, functioning and adaptation of soil fauna communities.” Matty often joins our urban expeditions in the Netherlands, where he dazzles the participants with his knowledgeable and witty stories about the creatures that live under our feet.

 

AGLAIA BOUMA

Entomologist and author

Aglaia is a part-time entomologist at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. After a nearly fatal allergic reaction to hornet stings, Aglaia developed a huge fear of insects. To conquer her phobia, she started studying them, and discovered a whole new universe of fascinating creatures. She is now an entomologist who passionately shares her knowledge of insects in many different ways. For example, she writes books aimed at the general public, has a column about creepy-crawlies in the large Dutch newspaper NRC, gives lectures, and teaches students and interested citizen scientists. During expeditions in both natural and urban environments, she loves to show interesting insects and tell about their way of life.

 HENK VAN DER MEULEN

Geneticist and entomologist

Henk van der Meulen is currently finishing his MSc degree in evolutionary biology at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. So far, his research has brought him to caves throught Europe and to the rainforest of Panama. He also works at an ecological consultancy firm, where his main focus is on bat research, entomology and environmental DNA analyses. 
Being interested in insects from a young age, Henk has developed an extensive knowledge on the subject. During his bachelor’s degree, he discovered a passion for genetics too, which led him to build his own DNA lab at home. He now uses it to teach about genetics and microbiology at primary schools in order to pass his enormous excitement for the field of biology to others. He loves research, but his ultimate goal is to share his knowledge and passion for science with society!

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