Asifur Rahman-Soad - Post Doc.

Research

I investigate how specialized metabolites mediate ecological interactions and drive the evolution of chemical defenses across trophic levels.

Current Research Themes

  • Evolution of chemical defenses
  • Sequestration of plant specialized metabolites
  • Chemical ecology of plant–insect interactions
  • Predator–prey interactions
  • Comparative metabolomics

Expertise

  • Chemical ecology, evolutionary ecology, and multitrophic interactions

  • Plant-insect interactions, insect chemical defenses, and behavioral ecology
  • Comparative metabolomics: HPLC-DAD, LC-MS, GC-MS
  • Molecular biology: protein purification, enzyme activity assays
  • Experimental design and data analysis: R, Python, GraphPad Prism

 

 

Contact

Otto-Sander-Str. 5
Altbau Phytomedizin
Room 173

asifur.soad@uni-hohenheim.de

+49 (0)711 459-23194

Links

ResearchGate   Link

Google Scholar Link

 

 

Curriculum Vitae

2025–present: Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hohenheim, investigating the evolutionary ecology of sequestered chemical defenses in milkweed bugs through chemical ecology, comparative metabolomics, and behavioral experiments.

2021–2025: Completed doctoral research at Freie Universität Berlin, investigating plant–insect interactions, pheromone-mediated defence priming, and the molecular and chemical mechanisms underlying induced plant defence.

2019–2021: Expanded into plant chemical ecology at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, investigating the ecological functions of plant specialized metabolites and herbivore-induced defence responses.

2015–2017: Began my research journey in environmental microbiology, focusing on antimicrobial resistance in aquatic microorganisms.

Thesis Opportunities

Bachelor's and Master's students are welcome to undertake thesis projects in the areas of chemical ecology, evolutionary ecology, plant–insect interactions, metabolomics, and behavioral ecology. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss potential projects.