Martin Willensdorfer

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Education

1996 - 2002 Vienna University of Technology
M.Sc.: Mathematics in the Natural Sciences
1997 - 2002 University of Vienna
M.Sc.: Genetics
2002 - 2003 Data analyst and program developer for EmergenTec
2003 - 2007 Harvard University PhD: Biochemistry

Research interests

As a graduate student at the department of molecular and cellular biology I was interested in biological processes/systems and theoretical considerations of them. For me, evolutionary processes are the most intriguing ones.

I worked on models for the evolution of multicellularity/germline-soma-distinction, evolution of mutation rates, and on population genetics models for sympatric speciation. I also used evolving "computer programs" to get a better understanding of evolutionary processes.

Selected publications

  1. Willensdorfer M, R Bürger (2003). The two-locus model of Gaussian stabilizing selection. Theor Popul Biol 64: 101-117.
  2. Büerger R, M Willensdorfer, MA Nowak (2006). Why are phenotypic mutation rates much higher than genotypic mutation rates? Genetics 172: 197-206.
  3. Willensdorfer M (2008). Organism size promotes the evolution of specialized cells in multicellular digital organisms. J Evol Biol 21: 104-110.