Analysis of speciation processes, evolution of insects, phylogenomics, bioinformatics, evolutionary genomics, transfer & transdisciplinary research, science communication, museum development, social transformation processes

• since 2026: Deputy Spokesperson of Section C of the Leibniz Association
• since 2021: Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart
• since 2021: Co-speaker of the OSIRIS consortium
• since 2020: Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the BMFTR Research Initiative for the Conservation of Biodiversity (FEdA)
• 2020–2024: Spokesperson of the German Natural Science Research Collections (DNFS), since 2025 2nd Chairman and Vice Spokesperson
• since 2019: Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Primate Centre DPZ, Göttingen
• 2011–2015: Advisor to the National Science Foundation, USA
• 2005–2011: Member of the steering group of the priority programme SPP 1174 "Deep Metazoan Phylogeny", German Research Foundation (DFG)
• 2004–2008: Coordinator for the reorganisation of the Department of Biology in Kabul, Afghanistan
• 2001–2004: Editorial Board of the journal "Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution"; Editorial Board of the journal "Entomologische Abhandlungen"
• since 2005: Reviewer for various scientific journals, reviewer activities for the German Research Foundation (DFG), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Austrian Science Fund FWF

• 2022: Honorary doctorate from Ilia State University, Georgia
• 2017: Friedrich Brauer Medal of the Austrian Entomological Society