Dr. Linda Odenthal-Hesse

Dr Linda Odenthal-Hesse is a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology and is internationally renowned for her work on meiotic recombination, fertility and genome evolution.

After studying biology and genetics at the University of Cologne, she completed her PhD at the University of Leicester under the supervision of Sir Alec Jeffreys, one of the pioneers of modern DNA fingerprinting technology. Whilst still a PhD student, she was involved in ground-breaking work on the regulation of recombination hotspots, which has contributed significantly to our current understanding of meiotic recombination.

Her scientific career was supported from an early stage by competitive funding, including research grants during her Bachelor’s and Fast-Track Master’s programmes in Cologne, a doctoral fellowship from the Boehringer Ingelheim Fund for her PhD research in Leicester, and an international Odyssey Research Fellowship for her research in the USA.

This was followed by research stays at the University of Leicester and the MD Anderson Cancer Centre, where she conducted research into genome stability, DNA repair and recombination-associated mechanisms in disease.

From 2014 to 2016, she played a key role in the department headed by Diethard Tautz at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, working at the interface of evolutionary biology, genomic dynamics and recombination research.

Since 2016, she has led her own independent research group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology. Her research has made a significant contribution to elucidating the evolutionary mechanisms of recombination control, hybrid sterility and meiotic quality control. Of particular note are her studies on the evolution of recombination mechanisms in vertebrates and the discovery of a novel meiotic control system that regulates the elimination of defective germ cells and influences fertility.

Dr Odenthal-Hesse is involved in international collaborations, including with researchers at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Montpellier and Lyon, Charles University, and the Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata.

For her work, she has received several competitive research grants from the German Research Foundation (DFG). Her research findings are regularly published in leading international journals. In addition, she is invited to speak as a guest speaker and keynote speaker at international conferences and authors review articles and book chapters on key issues in meiosis and genome evolution.

Alongside her research, Dr Odenthal-Hesse is deeply involved in academic self-governance and the promotion of early-career researchers. She served as an elected representative of the research staff in the Biomedical Section of the Max Planck Society and as a member of numerous postgraduate, evaluation and appointment committees. From 2018 to 2023, she was a member of the Selection and Evaluation Committee of the Lise Meitner Excellence Programme for the promotion of outstanding female scientists. In addition, in 2024 she was admitted to the MPG Leadership Alumni Network (‘Sign up for Leadership’), a programme designed to foster scientific leadership within the Max Planck Society.