Patricia Burkhardt-Holm, Prof. Dr. rer. nat.

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. / Professor of Ecology
Ecologist

Programm MGU
Universität Basel
Vesalgasse 1
CH-4051 Basel
Switzerland

patricia.holm@clutterunibas.ch

Tel Sekretariat:  +41 61 207 04 00
Tel direct:           +41 61 207 04 02

Research interests

Current cooperations

  • Invasive gobies
    Jürgen Geist (München), Jost Borcherding (Grietherbusch), Keith Tierney (University of Alberta, Canada)
  • Microplastics
    Gunnar Gerdts (AWI, Helgoland), Bettina Meyer (AWI, Bremerhaven), Linda Amaral-Zettler (NIOZ, den Burg, NL), Erik van Sebille (University of Utrecht, NL), Markus Zennegg, P. Schmid (EMPA, Dübendorf)
  • Marine Mammals
    Helena Herr (Universität Hamburg)

Publications

Professional experience

After my PhD in zoology at the University of Heidelberg (Prof. Dr. V. Storch), I joined the Department of Neurobiology at ETH Zurich (Prof. Dr. M. Schachner). I then worked as a senior assistant at the Interdisciplinary Centre for General Ecology at the University of Bern and then at the Centre for Fish and Wildlife Health at the Institute of Animal Pathology in Bern.

I habilitated at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Bern in 1999 on the topic of 'Fish as Bioindicators'. Subsequently, I took over the management of the FISCHNETZ project to study the decline of fish catches in Swiss watercourses, working at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.

Since 2003 I have been a professor of ecology at the University of Basel. Here I head the research group Man-Society-Environment at the Department of Environmental Sciences and am also responsible for the management of two degree programmes.

Since 2009, I have been a delegate for Switzerland on the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission. I am also an active member of various other committees and scientific advisory boards. I am not only passionate about generating new scientific knowledge, but also about communicating new knowledge to students and society.

CV and track record

CV short version


A mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited

Plutarch

Teaching

I am the head of a transfaculty study program in Sustainable Development for bachelor students (from third term onwards) at the University of Basel. Together with social sciences and economics colleagues, we have implemented a master-level course, the Master of Science in Sustainable Development (MSD). My focus areas are topics on sustainability from the natural science perspective; zoology, marine and freshwater ecosystems; and studies on the anthropogenic effects on ecosystems and aquatic organisms.

Personal information

I love to travel! It allows me to be curious, to learn and broaden my horizons. I am fascinated by and admire all the wonders of nature: the symmetry of leaf arrangements in plants, the migration performances of whales and migrating birds, the learning aptitude of mammals… and many more. Recreation for me means extended activities in nature, such as hiking, swimming and skiing. I relax best with a good novel, a fine meal, a delicious bar of chocolate. I love to work – preferably with enough time to think and develop ideas.