At Taxon Expeditions (www.taxonexpeditions.com) we organise real scientific field expeditions to remote areas and describe new species together with non-scientists. At Taxon Expeditions, you can be Darwin, too!

I run a research group focusing on character evolution, using terrestrial gastropods and beetles as model systems, with particular emphasis of the evolution of (partial) asymmetry in body shape. I regularly publish scientific papers together with members of my research team.In addition to my scientific work, I am active in science popularization and communication. I do that in the form of columns, books, and newspaper articles, as well as public lectures and appearances on radio and tv. We also have been running the Dutch branch of the Evolution Megalab (www.evolutionmegalab.org), with heavy involvement from secondary schools throughout the Netherlands.At Leiden University, I teach several BSc and MSc courses in collection-based biodiversity research, and I regularly supervise students for their finals year's research projects.Finally, I spend part of my time on maintaining and augmenting the museum's land snail and Coleoptera collections.

I managed the research department, and prepared the fusion with the Zoological Museum of Amsterdam and the Natioanl Herbarium, which ultimately led to the formation of Naturalis Biodiversity Center.

My first postdoc at Wageningen University was in Richard Stouthamer's group at the Laboratory of Entomology, and focused on investigating horizontal transmission of the reproductive parasite Wolbachia in insects.My second postdoc was with Rolf Hoekstra at the Laboratory of Genetics. There, I ran a project (funded by ALW-NWO, based on a proposal I wrote myself) on the population genetics of a land snail hybrid zone in Greece.