A dynamic and interdisciplinary team
Meet our people
Our team of over 30 researchers at the University of Heidelberg advances knowledge on health impacts of the triple crisis and develops science-based interventions for resilient societies in collaboration with international partners.
Hei-Planet Director
Prof. Dr. Joacim Rocklöv
Hei-Planet Director
Joacim is the Director of the Heidelberg Planetary Health Hub. He is an epidemiologist, modeler and data scientist conducting interdisciplinary research within the field of climate change and infectious diseases. He obtained his PhD from Umeå University, Sweden. In 2021 he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship endowed by the The Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany. In 2018 Joacim was awarded the Albert II of Monaco and the Institute Pasteur Prize for research on environmental change and infectious diseases.
Hei-Planet research group leaders
Prof. Dr. Joacim Rocklöv
CSIDlab Group Leader
Joacim’s research is breaking disciplinary boundaries by integrating a wide range of unconventional and critical areas including epidemiology, global health, infectious diseases, ecology, socioeconomics, climate change, modeling, and machine learning, and developing predictive and scenario-based modelling.
Dr. Marina Treskova
Eco-epidemiology Junior Group Leader
Marina has a multidisciplinary background in epidemiology, modelling, biology, and economics. Her interest and research focus are on environmental degradation and restoration, and human health and well-being. She specifically focuses on designing and executing field studies, experimental studies, and socio-ecological interventions within this nexus.
Dr. Hedi Katre Kriit
Lancet Countdown Europe Group Leader
Hedi is a research fellow for the Lancet Countdown Climate Change and Health Europe. She holds a master’s degree in public health and economics. Her doctoral thesis focused on the health and economic effects of sustainable transport solutions. Her research interests include environmental epidemiology, urban health and the impacts of climate change on population health.
Dr. Marina Treskova
Eco-epidemiology Junior Group Leader
Marina has a multidisciplinary background in epidemiology, modelling, biology, and economics. Her interest and research focus are on environmental degradation and restoration, and human health and well-being. She specifically focuses on designing and executing field studies, experimental studies, and socio-ecological interventions within this nexus.
Administrative staff & Project coordinators
Elke Braun-van der Hoeven
Elke is trained in international business administration, with years of experience in the field of research management. She was formerly employed at the German Cancer Research Centre’s Grants Office and managing the Graduate School Epidemiology at Heidelberg University from 2002-2011.
Uliana Kachnova
As the Tulip Project Coordinator, Uliana uses her skills in scientific research and a deep understanding of intercultural communication and culturally responsive practices. Her role in the Tulip project allows her to apply her expertise in project management and coordination to ensure the successful execution of the initiatives.
Senani Dayabandara
Senani is the LILY Project Coordinator and a research assistant with a Master of Philosophy in Molecular Biotechnology.
Post-doctoral researchers
Dr. Michael Rogo Opata
Michael has a background in Theoretical Chemistry expert, and is a postdoctoral researcher studying climate change-driven infectious disease outbreaks at the human-animal interface.
Dr. Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle
Trish, a postdoctoral researcher at HIGH and IWR, leads the group “Climate Change, Migration and Health.”
Peter Fransson
Peter is a postdoctoral researcher, and is using dynamical models and scientific machine learning methods to simulate and study disease dynamics and eco-evolutionary feedbacks.
Dr. Petr Andriushchenko
Petr, a statistical physicist with a background in theoretical physics and computer science, splits his time between data science in the group and the Scientific Software Centre at the University of Heidelberg.
Dr. Stella Dafka
Stella, a climate scientist with a background in physics and meteorology, studies the interactions between large-scale atmospheric processes and climate extremes.
Dr. Pascale Stiles
Pascale, a postdoctoral epidemiologist, focuses on vector-borne and infectious disease surveillance, risk assessments, decision support tools, and prevention interventions.
Dr. Veronika Halasz
Veronika, a mathematician specializing in graph theory and discrete mathematics, focuses on modeling the spread of pathogens and information using graphs and networks.
Dr. Jerome Baron
Jerome, a postdoctoral scientist, specializes in surveillance and intervention for vector-borne diseases, with broader interests in zoonotic and veterinary disease modeling.
Dr. Cássia Rocha Pompeu
Cássia, a researcher with a background in civil engineering, environmental sciences, and ecology, focuses on Nature-based Solutions and the impacts of climate and land use changes on ecosystems and global health.
Dr. Prasad Liyanage
Prasad, a medical doctor and postdoctoral researcher with over 15 years in public health, specializes in infectious disease surveillance and control, particularly in low-resource settings.
PhD students
Julian Heidecke
Julian, a doctoral student, studies the impacts of climate change on mosquito-borne diseases, focusing on West Nile virus.
Andrea Lavarello Schettini
Andrea, a doctoral student, explores the links between climate change and infectious disease dynamics at the human-animal interface.
Pratik Singh
Pratik is a Ph.D. student with a background in applied mathematics and statistics. His interest includes modeling interaction between climate and epidemic outbreak, mathematical biology, and mapping species distribution.
Tareq Mohammed Al-Ahdal
Tareq, an Epidemiologist, Health Informatician, and Data Scientist, is a Ph.D. student focusing on data mining from social media to track infectious diseases and health disorders.
Yichao Liu
Yichao, a Ph.D. student, focuses on applying machine learning to public health monitoring, particularly developing explainable models to understand how climate change and other spatio-temporal factors impact infectious diseases.
Charles Hatfield
Charlie is a doctoral student with a background in urban planning and geoinformatics. His research interests include climate change governance, urban analytics, sustainability, and healthy environments.
Omid Airom
Omid is a doctoral student specializing in data science for health applications. His research aims to advance analytical methods that support data-driven decision-making in healthcare and public health.
Luise Nottmeyer
Luise, a PhD student, focuses on environmental epidemiology and infectious disease modeling. She is currently working on the TULIP project.
Francesca Dagostin
Francesca is a PhD student with a background in environmental engineering and science communication. Her research focuses on the impact of ecological and environmental factors on the emergence and spread of tick-borne diseases in Europe, using a One Health approach.
loharja Henry
Research assistants
Hammad Aamer
Hammad is a Computer Scientist completing his Masters at Heidelberg University with a specialization in Data Science.
Munira Omar
Munira is a student research assistant, contributing to the Climate Change and Health in sub-Saharan Africa project.
Johannes Jung
Johannes is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at Heidelberg University with a focus on Theoretical Biophysics.
Muskan Hashim
Muskan is a MSc Scientific Computing candidate at the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR).
Sumet Khumphairan
Sumet is a PhD student in Applied Mathematics .
Associated members
Cristina Arnés
Cristina is pursuing a master’s in public health at Yale University with a “la Caixa” Foundation fellowship. She is involved in European policy-making as a member of the Youth4Health Network (WHO Europe) and the UNECE Focal Point for the UN Major Group of Children and Youth.
Dr. Kristine Belesova