Aiden Hendrickx, BSc MSc

PhD student

phone:+43-1-4277-540 40

room: 209

e-mail

I am a botanist driven by an ambition to perform meaningful fundamental research contributing to our understanding of the evolution of Earth’s biodiversity. I have a strong background in ecology and evolutionary biology, with knowledge on data analysis, genetics/genomics, and a passion for tropical forest ecosystems. Specifically, I am working on the drivers of adaptive radiation in  tillandsioid bromeliads, a highly diverse Neotropical group. I have also worked on tropical crops and their wild relatives (coffee, banana) as a research associate at Meise Botanic Garden (Belgium) and during my MSc studies at KU Leuven (Belgium).

 

 

Biographical information

since Nov 2025: PhD Student, University of Vienna and Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution (VDSEE), Vienna, Austria. Supervisor: Ovidiu Paun. Project: Sparking explosive radiations: A comparative genomic study in subgenus Tillandsia.

2024-2025: Research Associate Africa/coffee projects. Meise Botanic Garden, Meise, Belgium.

2024: Secondary school Biology teacher (ad interim). Sint-Janscollege, Meldert, Belgium.

2022: Erasmus exchange semester, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.

2021-2023: MSc in Biology, major Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology. Faculty of Science, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Graduated magna cum laude. Thesis: The macroevolution of functional leaf traits in the genus Coffea: Understanding adaptive patterns across continental Africa and the West Indian Ocean Islands.

2018-2021: BSc in Biology, minor Environment and Sustainable Development. Faculty of Science, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Graduated magna cum laude.

 

 

Publications

Hendrickx A, Hatangi Y, Honnay O, Janssens SB, Stoffelen P, Vandelook F, Depecker J. 2024. Leaf functional trait evolution and its putative climatic drivers in African Coffea species. Annals of Botany 134: 683-698.

Bollen R, Hendrickx A, Bamenga L-P, Broeckhoven I, Léonard G, Stoffelen P. 2025. COFFEEBRIDGE - Bridging knowledge to the field: an evaluation of the agronomic and socio-economic potential of Robusta coffee genetic resources as a cash crop in the Congo Basin. Belgian Science Policy Office.



Conference contributions

Hendrickx A, Hatangi Y, Honnay O, Janssens SB, Stoffelen P, Vandelook F, Depecker J. 2025. Reading coffee leaves: How climate and lineage shape leaf functional traits. Solanaceae-Rubiaceae Genetics and Genomics International Conference 2025, Turin, Italy, 22-26 Sept 2025 [oral presentation].