Dr. Vienna Kowallik

• Since 11/2021
  Group Leader at the Chair of Forest Entomology and Protection, University Freiburg, Germany
  Studying host-microbiome interactions in bark beetles
• 2019 – 2020
  Visiting scientist at the Evolutionary genomics Unit, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
  Studying microbiome stress responses in honey bees
• 2017 – 2021
  PostDoc (2019 – 2021 DFG PostDoc fellowship by the German Research Foundation) in the Ecology and Evolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan
  Studying honey bee – microbiome relationships
• 2016 – 2017
  PostDoc in the Community Dynamics Group at the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
  Studying Eco-evolutionary dynamics in an algae-virus system

Academic education

• 2012 – 2015
  PhD funded by the International Max Planck Research School for Evolutionary Biology (IMPRS) at the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Experimental Evolution Group, Plön, Germany
  Thesis title: ”The natural ecology of Saccharomyces yeasts”
• 2005 – 2011
  Study of Biology at the Christian-Albrechts University (CAU), Kiel, Germany

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  CV Vienna Kowallik

  Kowallik_CV_2025 (481 KB), 30. April 2025

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The primary focus of my research is the study of the dynamics of host-microbiome interactions, with a particular emphasis on the responses and adaptations of microbiomes to increasing environmental challenges. I have a keen interest in understanding interaction dynamics within host-associated microbial communities and their mediated functions, particularly how they contribute to the vulnerability or resilience and adaptability of their hosts to stress factors.

I am enjoying adopting a holistic approach to understanding these interactions using a diverse array of methodologies, including fieldwork, advanced sequencing technologies (specifically amplicon sequencing) and controlled laboratory experiments. This approach allows for deeper insights into the mechanisms and impacts of microbiome dynamics.

Bachelor of Science (Study programs: Environmental Sciences, Forest Sciences)

• Environmental microbiology and biochemistry (elective module)

Master of Science (Study programs: Environmental Sciences, Forest Sciences)

• Insect-Microbe Symbiosis
• Forest Entomology (mandatory module)

• Le Pennec, G., Retel, C., Kowallik, V., Becks, L., and Feulner, P.G. (2023). Demographic fluctuations and selection during host-parasite coevolution interactively increase genetic diversity. Molecular Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16939.
• Kowallik, V., Das, A. and Mikheyev, A.S. (2022). Experimental inheritance of antibiotic acquired dysbiosis affects host phenotypes across generations. Frontiers in microbiology, 13: 1030771. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1030771.
• Kowallik, V., Das, A. and Mikheyev, A.S. (2022). Transgenerational inheritance of microbiome dysbiosis mediated effects on host phenotypes. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13: 1030771.
• Diehl, J. M. C., Kowallik, V., Keller, A., and Biedermann, P. H. (2022). First experimental evidence for active farming in ambrosia beetles and strong heredity of garden microbiomes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289(1986), p.20221458.
• Retel, C., Kowallik, V., Becks, L. and Feulner, P.G. (2022). Strong selection and high mutation supply characterize experimental Chlorovirus evolution. Virus Evolution, Volume 8, Issue 1.
• Kowallik V. and Mikheyev A.S. (2021). Honey Bee Larval and Adult Microbiome Life Stages Are Effectively Decoupled with Vertical Transmission Overcoming Early Life Perturbations, Mbio, 12(6), pp.e02966-21.
• Traynor, K., Mondet, F., de Miranda, J., Techer, M., Kowallik, V., Oddie, M., Chantawannakul, P., McAfee A. (2020). Varroa destructor: A Complex Parasite, Crippling Honeybees Worldwide. Trends in Parasitology, 36(7), 592-606.
• Retel, C.*, Kowallik, V*., Huang, W., Werner, B., Künzel, S., Becks, L. and Feulner, P.G. (2019). The feedback between selection and demography shapes genomic diversity during coevolution. Science Advances, 5(10). * = equal contribution
• Boynton, P., Kowallik, V., Landermann D, Stuckenbrock E.H. (2019). Quantifying the efficiency and biases of forest Saccharomyces sampling strategies. Yeast, 36(11), 657-668.
• Kowallik, V., and Greig, D. (2016). A systematic forest survey showing an association of Saccharomyces paradoxus with oak leaf litter. Environmental Microbiology Reports 8, 833–841.
• Boynton, P.J., Stelkens, R., Kowallik, V., and Greig, D. (2016). Measuring microbial fitness in a field reciprocal transplant experiment. Molecular Ecology Resources 17(3), 370-380.
• Kowallik, V., Miller, E., and Greig, D. (2015). The interaction of Saccharomyces paradoxus with its natural competitors on oak bark. Molecular Ecology 24, 1596–1610.
• Dirksen, P., Marsh, S.A., Braker, I., Heitland, N., Wagner, S., Nakad, R., Mader, S., Petersen, C., Kowallik, V., Rosenstiel, P., et al. (2016). The native microbiome of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: gateway to a new host-microbiome model. BMC Biology 14, 38.

• Sequencing viromes associated with bark beetles: “Disentangling the role of the pathosphere as driving agent of population dynamics of the European spruce bark beetle
• Experimental microbiome adaptation under climate change scenarios: “Microbiome responses and mediated effects on bark beetle fitness and forest functioning under different climate change scenarios” PhD project of Raluca Hedes
• Investigating the role of the microbiome in the host range expansion of aggressive bark beetles
• Discovery and functional understanding of key microbial symbionts across various bark beetle species
• Microbial volatile effects on bark beetle behavior
• Functional understanding of pathogen defense mechanisms of bacterial symbionts in bark beetles
• Exploring chemically-induced microbiome changes in honey bees

Memberships

• Elite Program for Postdocs of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation
• Coaching Women for Science and Academia (CORA), University of Freiburg
• Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU)
• World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)