Animals with interesting venoms and poisons are living in all ecosystems around the globe, from sunburned deserts to wet rainforest and high altitude mountain ranges.
In order to study these creatures, I leave my office and laboratory in my hometown of Gießen frequently and head towards a multitude of remote (and sometimes surprisingly non-remote) areas. Several species of my research scope are also extremely rare to encounter and threatened. For those, I collaborate closely with zoological gardens and breeding programs.
Previous Sampling Trips
April 2021 – Königslutter am Elm, Germany (Sampling of caudate skin poisons)
February 2020 – Zoo Leipzig, Germany (Venom collection of Komodo dragons)
January 2020 – Reptilium Landau, Germany (Venom collection of Monitor lizards)
October 2019 – Münster, Germany (collection of purse-web spiders)
October 2019 – Zoo Neunkirchen, Germany (Lizard venom collection)
July 2019 – Zoo Neunkirchen, Germany (Lizard venom collection)
August 2019 – Quito, Ecuador (diverse sampling)
April 2018 – Braunschweig, Germany (Amphibian collection)
August 2017 – Alps, Italy & Switzerland (collection of alpine salamander poisons)
June 2017 – Alps, Italy & Switzerland (collection of alpine- & fire salamander poisons)
January & February 2017 – Israel (collection of amphibian poisons and tissues)
September 2016 – Pyrenees, Spain & France (collection of brook newt secretions)
June 2016 – Corsica, France (collection of amphibian poisons)