Working Groups

The Experimental Biology group investigates various questions related to the biology of farm animals. These include animal welfare, genetic mechanisms, disease mechanisms, and evolution. Using a broad range of methods, from computer-assisted analyses to cell models and animal models, the group addresses all aspects from target identification to target validation.

Growing consumer environmental awareness, growing awareness of the importance of species-appropriate livestock farming, and advancing globalization require adaptation of existing biosecurity and hygiene strategies in agricultural animal husbandry.
The Animal Hygiene Working Group conducts both basic and practice-oriented research in the fields of infectious disease medicine and pathogen epidemiology. The focus is on infectious and epidemic threats affecting farm animals, from insects to cattle, using the One Health concept as a foundation. The research focuses on improving our understanding of the factors and interactions between microorganisms, animals, humans, and the environment that are crucial for the emergence and maintenance of infection chains. This includes combating antibiotic resistance, animal pathogens, and zoonotic pathogens, as well as developing effective preventive measures on farms, including waste and carcass disposal.

The Aquaculture Working Group emerged from the former Aquaculture and Aquatic Ecology Division of the Department of Animal Sciences. The working group is responsible for all facilities related to aquaculture research and sees itself as an infrastructural unit of the department's laboratory animal facility, accessible to all groups within the department. The working group also conducts independent research projects, contributing to research in the areas of breeding, reproduction, husbandry technology, and product quality. Research is conducted on various fish species, such as trout, tilapia, and catfish, as well as on zebrafish as a model organism. Administratively, the working group is integrated into the Functional Breeding Department, whose head, Prof. Tetens, also holds the scientific directorship for aquaculture.