Dana Lauenroth

About me

I was born and raised close to the baltic in the beautiful city of Lübeck in northern Germany. I graduated from the University of Lübeck with a Master of Science in Mathematics in Medicine and Life Sciences. Currently, I am pursuing a PhD in Theoretical Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, where I am part of the Research Group Theoretical Models of Eco-evolutionary Dynamics .

Most of my free time I am spending with my beautiful little mare Bambina (Bambi). If I am not at the barn, I like being at the sea, or if I can not even stand the northern German weather in my yellow Friesennerz and mud boots, I enjoy drawing, painting, and baking.

My Work

Research interests

My research interests include the utilisation of mathematical modelling and numerical simulations to improve our understanding of biological processes. I am particularly passionate about branching process models as a tool to gain insights into eco-evolutionary dynamics.

Modern medicine and agriculture are typical examples of how humans influence ecological and evolutionary dynamics. As antibiotic resistance is a major threat to public health, the evolution of resistance to pesticides (fungicides, herbicides or insecticides) is a global challenge in agriculture. My current work aims to analyse ecological and evolutionary forces driving population dynamics in agricultural weeds, focussing on herbicide resistance evolution and weed control failure.

Scientific illustrations

During my PhD, I started creating scientific illustrations for our research articles and related outreach. I enjoy this work a lot and plan to develop this skill further.

Publications

Lauenroth, D., and Gokhale, C.S. Assessing the probability and time of weed control failure due to herbicide resistance evolution. bioRxiv (2024).

Lauenroth, D., and Gokhale, C.S. Theoretical assessment of persistence and adaptation in weeds with complex life cycles. Nature Plants 9, 1267–1279 (2023).

Lauenroth, D., Bender, B., Boie, S., Kunze, B., and Keller, K. Der Zufall schlägt zu - Stochastischer Zugang zur Entstehung von Antibiotikaresistenzen. MNU Journal, 73, 129–135 (2020).

Talks and posters

Minisymposia

• Theoretical models in sustainable agriculture: integrating ecology evolution and economics, DSABNS, University Lisbon, Caparica (February 2024)

Talks

• Multitype Galton-Watson Processes for Herbicide Resistance Evolution, DSABNS, University Lisbon, Caparica (February 2024)
• Theoretical assessment of persistence and adaptation in weeds with complex life cycles, GfÖ Annual Meeting, University Leipzig (September 2023)
• Theoretical Models of Weed Control, Dynamic Days Europe, University Naples (September 2023)
• Persistence and Adaptation in Perennial Weeds with Complex Life Cycles, Invited Talk, University Würzburg (July 2023)
• Persistence and Adaptation in Perennial Weeds with Complex Life Cycles, DSABNS, BCAM Bilbao (February 2023)
• Role of a Seed Bank for Dynamics and Control of Sorghum Halepense, MMEE, University Reading (July 2022)
• Role of Seed Bank in Dynamics of Sorghum Halepense, Internal Conference Aquavit, Max Planck Institute Plön (June 2022)

Posters

• Herbicide Resistance - What underlies the ability of perennial weed species to overcome control?, Internal Conference Aquavit, Max Planck Institute Plön (June 2023)
• Multitype branching processes in herbicide resistance adaptation, Workshop Mathematical Models of Evolutionary Rescue, Max Planck Institute Plön (June 2023)
• Persistence and adaptation in perennial weeds with complex life cycles, Theoretical Methodology Symposium Modelling Resistance Evolution, Max Planck Institute Plön (April 2023)
• Persistence and adaptation in perennial weeds with complex life cycles, Münster Evolution, University Münster (March 2023)
• Persistence and adaptation in perennial weeds with complex life cycles, ECMTB, University Heidelberg (September 2022)
• Persistence and adaptation in perennial weeds with complex life cycles, SMBE Sattelite Meeting on Evolutionary Rescue, University Kiel (September 2022)

Contact

• Twitter
• GitHub
• Institute

Elements

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';