Face of the LIB: Alexander Suh

What led you to biology?

As a child, I used to walk along the various mountain rivers and the coast of South Korea with my father. We caught crabs, shrimps and fish there. That gave me an early passion for animals. At the same time, my parents had a big influence on me because they love gardening and are very fond of plants. That's why I've always had a strong passion for animals, plants and biodiversity in general. Even as a small child, I wanted to understand everything about organisms.

What would you have become if biology hadn't worked out?

I used to think about becoming an astronaut. But I get seasick very quickly. That's why this career choice was cancelled very quickly. Alternative professions for me were and are gardener or animal keeper.

What drives you as a researcher?

In one word: curiosity. For me, it's about understanding what we see with our eyes, what we surmise and how these different pieces of the puzzle can be brought together to gain knowledge. Always with curiosity as the driving force behind it.

What are the highlights of your day-to-day work?

It's never the same. And you never know what research results or findings might come your way the next day. With many projects, it is often frustrating but also the most exciting thing when you are completely wrong with your expectations and something completely different comes out of it. Another highlight is that you gradually take on more and more responsibility in research, you train a wide variety of students and then supervise doctoral students and postdocs. This results in incredibly exciting interactions with people, the diversity of research fields, ideas and also of backgrounds and perspectives that you have in the research project. That's something that makes this job very, very special.

What does nature mean to you personally? Is there a favourite place in nature?

Nature is everywhere. And of course it's difficult to pick a favourite place. But perhaps there are places that you have known for a long time and where you have the feeling that they are still intact after all these years. Specifically, I can think of certain places in the South Korean Wadden Sea where I feel very, very comfortable.

Crabs, fish, butterflies. What is your personal favourite and why?

Especially fish. That came about as a result of my early childhood experiences, but in the end I'm interested in everything. When I'm out in nature, I want to see what's there, it's a reflex for me to turn over stones and see what's underneath, to look at the bark on a tree or to look into the water.

How do you explain the concept of biodiversity to children?

It's a variety of shapes, colours and functions in the ecosystem.

What do you want people to associate with the LIB in ten years' time?

It should be perceived even more strongly as a place where people can understand what nature is all about, what biodiversity actually is and what the change in our name means. How do we measure and understand this? What does it mean for us as humans? And conversely, what does it mean for nature? After all, we are also part of nature. What does that mean for all other organisms? I also hope that in ten years' time people will perhaps have more opportunities to get involved in research. Because there is so much to do in environmental protection.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in the field of environmental protection?

If we want to preserve certain species now, how do you decide? Take the big fluffy animals? Maybe we forget all the animals that are perhaps just as important for nature or for us and our continued human existence. Who decides that? All these things are important to clarify. Social awareness is now there and I think the biggest challenge now is to prioritise.

What advice would you give to young biologists at the start of their careers?

Openness. I would advise them to learn modern and classical methods and to look at the many fundamental questions in nature from both sides in order to understand the basic principles properly.

Which area of the LIB is particularly close to your heart?

I am particularly interested in the four complementary centres that explicitly collaborate on different topics and visions and are involved in a collection and collection-based exchange.

Prof. Dr Alexander Suh has headed the Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research (zmb) at the LIB since April 2023 and is Professor of Molecular Biodiversity Research at the University of Bonn. He previously taught in the UK at the University of East Anglia and was a group leader at Uppsala University in Sweden. After studying biology at the Free University of Berlin and completing his doctorate at the University of Münster, he started here in 2012 as a postdoc in the field of phylogenetic systematics, before finally working as an assistant professor of evolutionary genomics at Uppsala University in Sweden.