Prof. Dr. Oskar Hagen

Since July 2025, Oskar Hagen has been a Professor for Mechanistic/Process-Oriented Modelling of Biodiversity and Ecosystems at Goethe University Frankfurt, where he leads the Computational Integrative Biodiversity (CIB) research group at the Center for Critical Computational Studies (C³S) and at the Senckenberg Research Institute. His path to this role has been shaped by interdisciplinary interests and a deep(time) scientific curiosity.

Biography

Oskar initially specialized in communications networking through a technical degree at SENAI, Brazil. This experience in computational logic significantly influenced his subsequent scientific endeavors. Transitioning into conservation biology, he completed his Bachelor's degree at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), where he investigated the ecological impacts of artificial illumination on firefly populations. This work provided the first quantitative assessment of the severe effects of light pollution on these insects, leading to propose fireflies as charismatic flagship species and bioindicators. In doing so, the awareness of ecological light pollution among the general public and policymakers is raised, thereby linking ecological research to targeted public engagement and science communication.

During his Master's studies in Environmental Sciences at ETH Zürich in Switzerland, Oskar developed generalized models to explore how different speciation and extinction processes have shaped biodiversity through evolutionary time. Actively contributing to the scientific community, he notably developed the R package TreeSimGM and extended PyRate, a Bayesian framework widely used to analyze macroevolutionary patterns from fossil data.

During his doctorate at ETH Zürich and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research (WSL), Oskar pioneered the gen3sis simulation engine, an open-source platform that integrates paleoenvironmental reconstructions and eco-evolutionary mechanisms and enables computational counterfactual experiments that can be linked to multiple past and present biodiversity datasets. Through global virtual experiments, this framework has generated novel insights into the emergence, maintenance, and vulnerability of biodiversity across geological as well as shorter timescales.

Throughout his career, Oskar has consistently bridged diverse disciplines, advanced scientific methodologies, and produced practical conservation applications. His collaborative and cross-disciplinary approach extends to innovative teaching, where he trains the next generation of scientists to critically evaluate assumptions and rigorously test and formalize hypotheses, ultimately fostering a deeper, reproducible and accessible understanding of the dynamics that drive biodiversity under constantly changing biotic and abiotic contexts.

Positions and Roles

2025 – Now

Professor at the Goethe University Frankfurt

Center for Critical Computational Studies (C³S), Germany
Senckenberg Research Institute, Germany

2021 – 2025

PostDoc at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
University of Leipzig, Germany
Environmental Research Centre Leipzig-Halle GmbH (UFZ), Germany

2020 – 2020

Consultant at the International Tropical Conservation Fund

Fresh Water Creek (remote work from Switzerland), Belize

2019 – 2020

Consultant at the Swiss Papiliorama and Belizean Corozal Sustainable Future Initiative

Papiliorama Foundation, Switzerland

2019 – 2019

Swiss Federation Civil Servant at the International Tropical Conservation Fund

Multiple National Protected Areas, Belize

2016 – 2016

Research Collaborator at the Antonelli Lab

University of Gothenburg, Sweden

2015 – 2016

Project Manager and Consultant at the Hermetia Brasil Startup

Meruoca Ltd., Brazil

2013 – 2014

International Consultant at the SN-REDD Project

Prime Consultancy Co. Ltd., Lao PDR

2013 – 2013

Intern at the Forest Division

Federal Office for the Environment of Switzerland (FOEN), Switzerland

2012 – 2013

Intern at the Sustainability and Business Performance Consulting

doCOUNT Inc., Switzerland

2012 – 2012

Volunteer at the NGO

Rhino and Forest Foundation, Switzerland

2012 – 2012

Assistant at the Life Science Zürich PhD Program in Ecology of UZH and ETHZ

University of Zürich (UZH), Switzerland

2011 – 2011

Assistant at the Larch Budmoth Alps Population Dynamics Project

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), Switzerland

2007 – 2007

Trainee at the Computer Technician on Communication Networks

Federal University of São Carlos - campus Sorocaba, UFSCAR, Brazil

2002 – 2003

Trainee at the Diesel Trucks Mechanics Rafael Autopeças

Porto Feliz, Brazil

Education

More at: https://hagen.bio

Research

Topics:

  • Biodiversity
  • Biogeography
  • Macro-ecology
  • Macro-evolution
  • Ecosystem Modelling
  • Theoretical Ecology
  • Computational Biology
  • Eco-evolutionary dynamics
  • Mechanistic spatially-explicit modeling of biodiversity and ecosystems
  • Interactions between ecological, evolutionary, and environmental dynamics
  • Impacts of past and present climate change on biodiversity
  • Integrative conservation biology and sustainability transformations
  • Computational macroecology and macroevolution
  • Complex dynamical systems
  • Integration of environmental, ecological, and evolutionary theory and data bridging conceptual and disciplinary divides

Teaching
Publications

Oskar's full list of peer-reviewed publications is available here.

Contact

Center for Critical Computational Studies (C3S)

Eschersheimer Landstraße 121

60322 Frankfurt am Main

hagenc3suni-frankfurtde

Webpage: www.hagen.bio

ORCID: 0000-0002-7931-6571