PD Dr. Manuela Schmidt
- show Content Vita
- show Content Forschung / Research
- show Content Gremien und Mitgliedschaften / Academic administration
- show Content Publikationen / Publications
Professional Employments and Positions | |
since 2010 |
Lecturer ("Akademische Rätin") at the Institute of Systematic zoology and Evolutionary Research |
2007 - 2011 |
Vice-project manager of the collaboration project "InspiRat - Bionically inspired climbing robot for the external inspection of linear structures", supported by the federal Ministry of Science and Education |
2005 - 2006 |
Leader of the Junior research group "Functional Morphology of the Vertebrate Motion system" |
2004 - 2010 |
Assistant professor at the Institute of Systematic zoology and Evolutionary Research |
2000 - 2004 |
Research and teaching assistant at the Institute of Systematic zoology and Evolutionary Research |
1998 |
Research assistant at the Innovation Centre "Motion Systems", supported by the German Research Foundation |
Habilitation | |
February 2011 |
Venia legendi in Zoology Habilitation thesis: "Die arboreal quadrupede Fortbewegung der Primaten. Das Grundmuster der Bewegungsprinzipien und die Konsequenzen für die Evolution des Bewegungssystems der Primaten.“ |
Grants and Awards | |
2012 |
German Pain Research Award |
1998 - 2000 |
Scholarship by the Thuringian ministry of science, research and art |
1998 |
Faculty award |
Education | |
February 2001 |
Doctor's degree in Natural Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Dissertation thesis: "Zur Evolution der Fortbewegung der Primaten. Eine vergleichende Studie zur Lokomotion arboreal-quadrupeder Primaten" |
May 1998 |
Diploma degree in Biology Thesis: "Lokomotion und Myologie von Eulemur fulvus (Primates: Lemuridae) als Beispiel für einen quadrupeden Primaten" |
1991 - 1998 |
Diploma study, Biology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Fields: Zoology, Anthropology, Neurobiology, Microbiology |
As functional and evolutionary morphologist the fundamental interest of my research is to understand evolutionary transformations in biological systems. The particular focus of my research is directed to the motion system of mammals. I want to understand how adaptive changes in form-function relationships arose against the background of phylogenetic heritage and evolutionary constraints. Examples are the reconstruction of plesiomorphic and derived characters of primate locomotion (e.g. Schmidt, 2008; Schmidt, Habilitation thesis 2010) or the comparison of functional and developmental determinants in mammalian limb proportions (Schmidt and Fischer, 2009). The motion system has multiple biological roles in the life of an animal and current research activities are directed to non-locomotory activities related to the care of the body surface. Grooming plays a predominant role for an individual’s health and fitness, and I want to know how functional demands on grooming could have influenced the evolution of the mammalian motion system. The transfer of biological solutions into engineering has a long tradition in Jena. Together with our colleagues from the Technical University Ilmenau we extracted common principles of self-stability in the locomotion of small mammals or of climbing kinematics in rats, primates and chameleons. The latter were implemented in the engineering of Ratnic, a small climbing robot (Tetra GmbH Ilmenau). A current collaborative project explores the technical solution of short-distance mechanoreceptors according to the sinus hairs of mammals. Beside the application in engineering, locomotor studies become of increasing importance as diagnostic tool in preclinical and genetic research projects. Here, we demonstrate the potential of high-resolution kinematic analyses based on X-ray fluoroscopy. |
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Current Research Projects
Gremientätigkeit / Academic committee work | |
since 2008 | Member of the faculty council |
2005 - 2010 | Member of the university council for research |
2010 - 2013 | Group manager of the section "Morphology" of the German Zoological Society |
Memberships | |
since 1999 | German Zoological Society |
since 2000 | Friends' association of the Phyletic Museum e.V. |
International Society of Vertebrate Morphology | |
Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology |
Journal papers (peer-reviewed)
2015 -
Hunt, A.; Schmidt, M.; Fischer, M.; Quinn, R. (2015): A Biologically Based Neural System Coordinates the Joints and Legs of a Tetrapod. Bioinspiration and Biomimetics 10, 055004. doi:10.1088/1748-3190/10/5/055004
Niederschuh, S.; Witte, H.; Schmidt, M. (2015): The role of vibrissal sensing in forelimb position control during travelling locomotion in the rat (Rattus norvegicus, Rodentia). Zoology 118, 51-62.
Niederschuh, S.; Helbig, T.; Zimmermann, K.; Witte, H.; Schmidt, M. (2017): Kinematic response in limb and body posture depending on sensory feedback from carpal sinus hairs in the rat (Rattus norvegicus). Zoology. doi: 10.1016/j.zool.2017.02.001.
Schmidt, M.; Mehlhorn, M.; Fischer, M.S. (2016): Shoulder girdle rotation, forelimb movement, and the influence of carapace shape on locomotion in Testudo hermanni (Testudinidae). Journal of Experimental Biology 219, 2693-2703.
Volkova, T.; Zeidis, I.; Witte, H.; Schmidt, M.; Zimmermann, K. (2016): Analysis of the vibrissa parametric resonance causing a signal amplification during whisking behaviour. Journal of Bionic Engineering 13, 312-323.
2010 - 2014
Böttger, M.K; Leuchtweis, J.; Schaible, H.-G.; Schmidt, M. (2011): Videoradiographic analysis of the range of motion in unilateral experimental knee joint arthritis in rats. Arthritis Research and Therapy 13, R79.
Helbig, T.; Voges, D.; Niederschuh, S.; Schmidt, M.; Witte, H. (2014): Characterizing the substrate contact of carpal vibrissae of rats during locomotion. In: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Volume 8608, pp 399-401.
Hesse, B.; Nyakatura, J.A.; Fischer, M.S.; Schmidt, M. (2014): Adjustments of limb mechanics in cotton-top tamarins to moderate and steep support orientations: significance for the understanding of early primate evolution. J. Mamm. Evol. 22, 435-450.
Hunt, A.; Schmidt, M.; Arnold, D.; Fischer, M.; Quinn, R. (2014): Dynamic simulation of inter-leg controller for tetrapod coordination. In: Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Lecture Notes in Computer Science Volume 8608, pp 142-153.
Preuschoft, H.; Hohn, B.; Scherf, H.; Schmidt, M.; Krause, C.; Witzel, U. (2010): Functional analysis of the primate shoulder. International Journal of Primatology 31, 301-320.
Schmidt, M. (2011): Locomotion and postural behaviour. Advances in Science and Research 5, 23-39.
2005 - 2009
Böttger, M.K.; Weber, K.; Schmidt, M.; Gajda, M.; Bräuer, R.; Schaible, H.-G. (2009): Gait abnormalities differentially indicate pain or structural joint damage in monoarthicular antigen-induced arthritis. Pain 145, 142-150.
Nyakatura, J.; Fischer, M.S.; Schmidt, M. (2007): Gait parameter adjustments of cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus, Callitrichidae) to locomotion on inclined arboreal substrates. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 135, 13-26.
Schmidt, M. (2005): Quadrupedal locomotion in squirrel monkeys (Cebidae: Saimiri sciureus) – A cineradiographic study of limb kinematics and related substrate reaction forces. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 128, 359-370.
Schmidt, M. (2005): Hind limb proportions and kinematics: are small primates different from other small mammals? Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 3367-3383.
Schmidt, M. (2008): Forelimb proportions and kinematics: How are small primates different from other small mammals? Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 3775-3789.
Schmidt, M.; Fischer, M.S. (2009): Morphological integration in mammalian limb proportions: dissociation between function and development. Evolution 63, 749-766.
Schmidt, M.; Schilling, N. (2007): Fiber type distribution in the shoulder muscles of tree shrews, cotton-top tamarins, and squirrel monkeys related to shoulder movements and forelimb loading. Journal of Human Evolution 52, 401-419.
2000 - 2004
Fischer, M.S.; Schilling, N.; Schmidt, M.; Haarhaus, D.; Witte, H. (2002): Basic limb kinematics of small therian mammals. Journal of Experimental Biology 205, 1315-1338.
Preuschoft, H.; Schmidt, M.; Hayama, S.; Okada, M. (2003): The influence of three-dimensional movements of the forelimb on the shape of the thorax and its importance for erect body posture. Courier Forsch.-Inst. Senckenberg 243, 9-24.
Schmidt, M.; Fischer, M.S. (2000): Cineradiographic study of forelimb movements during quadrupedal locomotion in the brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus, Primates: Lemuridae). American Journal of Physical Anthropology 111, 245-262.
Schmidt, M.; Voges, D.; Fischer, M.S. (2002): Shoulder movements during quadrupedal locomotion in arboreal primates. Z. Morph. Anthropol. 83, 235-242.
Witte, H.; Biltzinger, J.; Hackert, R.; Schilling, N.; Schmidt, M.; Reich, C.; Fischer, M.S. (2002): Torque patterns of the limbs of small therian mammals during locomotion on flat ground. Journal of Experimental Biology 205, 1339-1353.
Witte, H.; Fischer, M.S.; Schmidt, M.; Gruber, S.; Ludwig, O.; Hackert, R.; Schilling, N.; Voges, D.; Hoffmann, H.; Preuschoft, H. (2003): Human bipedality: mechanical preconditions and morphological adaptations. Courier Forsch.-Inst. Senckenberg 243, 25-34.
Book chapters
Schmidt, M. (submitted): Die Zelle – elementare Einheit des Lebens. 55 Textseiten zuzgl. Abbn. In: Kurzes Lehrbuch der Speziellen Zoologie. (ed. V. Storch). Spektrum Verlag, Heidelberg.
Schmidt, M. (submitted): Gewebe – strukturelle und funktionelle Differenzierung von Zellen. 35 Textseiten zuzgl. Abbn. In: Kurzes Lehrbuch der Speziellen Zoologie. (ed. V. Storch). Spektrum Verlag, Heidelberg.
Schmidt, M. (submitted): Die Körperöberfläche (Integument). Ca. 15 Textseiten zuzgl. Abbn. In: Kurzes Lehrbuch der Speziellen Zoologie. (ed. V. Storch). Spektrum Verlag, Heidelberg.
Schmidt, M.; Krause, C. (2011): Scapula movements and their contribution to three-dimensional forelimb excursions in quadruped primates. In: Primate Locomotion: Linking Field and Laboratory Research. (eds. K. D’Aout & E.E. Vereecke). pp. 83-108. Book in the series “Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects” Series Editor R.H. Tuttle, Springer Science & Business Media LLC, New York.
Schmidt, M. (2014): Primates. In: Lehrbuch der Speziellen Zoologie. Band 2 Wirbel- oder Schädeltiere. 3. Aufl. (eds. W. Westheide & G. Rieger) pp. 515-543. Spektrum Verlag, Heidelberg.
Schmidt, M. (2010): Primates. In: Lehrbuch der Speziellen Zoologie. Band 2 Wirbel- oder Schädeltiere. 2. Aufl. (eds. W. Westheide & G. Rieger) pp. 564-592. Spektrum Verlag, Heidelberg.
Schmidt, M. (2006): Primate Locomotion. In: Encyclopedia of Anthropology. (ed. J. Birx) pp. 1938- 1939. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, California.
Witte, H.; Hackert, R.; Lilje, K.E.; Schwerda, D.; Schilling, N.; Schmidt, M.; Freitag, S.; Seyfarth, A.; Ilg, W.; Blickhan, R.; Fischer, M.S. (2001): Some principles and some constraints of scaling in the locomotor apparatus of quadruped animals and animates. In: Similarity Methods. (eds. B. Kröplin, S. Rudolph, S. Brückner) pp. 149-151. Institut für Statik und Dynamik der Raumfahrtkonstruktionen der Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart.
Witte, H.; Schilling, N.; Hoffmann, H. Hackert, R.; Voges, D.; Lilje, K.E.; Schmidt, M.; Fischer, M.S. (2002): Der Rumpf wird vom Menschen und von anderen Säugetieren systematisch für die Fortbewegung genutzt. In: Prävention von arbeitsbedingten Gesundheitsgefahren und Erkrankungen. (eds. R. Grieshaber, W. Schneider & Scholle, H.C.) pp. 291-304. 8. Erfurter Tage. Monade agentur für kommunikation, Leipzig.
Witte, H.; Fischer, M.S.; Schmidt, M.; Gruber, S.; Ludwig, o; Hackert, R.; Schilling, N.; Voges, D.; Hoffmann, H.; Preuschoft, H. (2003): Human bipedality: mechanical preconditions and morphological adaptation. In: Walking upright. (eds. J.L. Franzen, M. Köhler, S. Moyà-Solà) pp. 25-35. Results of the 13th International Senckenberg Conference at the Reimers Foundation Bad Homburg v.d.H. and at the Senckenberg Research Institut, Frankfurt am Main.