As a Geologist/Palaeobiologist, I am captivated by the tales that rocks and fossils tell about chronicles of life on Earth. To dive into how biodiversity has adapted to environmental and climatic changes over millions of years, I reconstruct past ecosystems using sedimentary layers, fossil assemblages, and geochemical proxies. My research highlights the forces that shape life under stress by revealing patterns of extinction, adaptation, and resilience. Beyond the lab, I use digital art to give life to these stories, bringing attention to environmental crises and biodiversity loss by translating intricate scientific findings into accessible narratives that spark curiosity, awareness, and action.

WORK EXPERIENCE AND INTERNSHIPS

Trainee at the drilling site of Oman Drilling Project- GT1 [February 2017]
Assisting Geologists with core recovery, curation , and
logging of the lower crustal gabbros.

Trainee at Public Authority of Civil Aviation [July-August 2017]
Established a study case for the risk factors of a simulated
earthquake in Mekran subduction zone in Arabian Sea.

Trainee at UNIVERSITY OF BONN [15th March- 30th April 2018]
Internship: Lab analysis, such as particle size distribution, TOC and
nitrogen content measurements, SEM particle analysis, facies
analysis.

German University of Technology in Oman

Junior teaching assistant at Applied
Geoscience department. [September 2019- March 2020]

Research assistant for Contemporary [April- July 2020]
Earthen Building Project- field work, soil sampling,
lab analysis: particle size distribution, XRF sample preparations , density
analysis.

Content Writer for Climate Change Action Team [May-September 2022]
Geozentrum, FAU
simplifying complex scientific topics into accessible narratives, raising
awareness of the public through digital platforms.

English Coordinator and Teacher at Mr Higgins English
Camp- Nürnberg, Germany
English Summer Camp (Summer Edition of 2021, 2022,2023,
2024) English Easter Camp (Easter Edition of 2022, 2023)

Job Seekers Internship- Occidental Oman [March- May 2024]
Well data QC, 1001 well correlations, subsurface mapping and
structure modelling of the subsurface of Mukhaizna North field.

Trainee at the Museum of Natural History- Muscat, Oman [June 20249
Resampling, sorting and data entry of the archived invertebrate
fossils

My current research focus as a PhD candidate:

• Reconstructing Pliocene climate change in Central Europe (4.7–2.5 Ma) 
• investigating the responses of ecosystems and biodiversity to periods of warm and cold climate.
• obtaining high-resolution environmental records from the Heidelberg Basin's UniNord core.
• using a variety of proxy analyses, such as modelling, geochemistry, and sedimentology, to comprehend historical climate dynamics.

Decker, V., Falkenroth, M., Lindauer, S., Landgraf, J., Al-Lawati, Z., Al- Rahbi, H., . . . Hoffmann, G. (2021). Collapse of Holocene mangrove ecosystems along the coastline of Oman – Corrigendum. Quaternary Research, 100, 260-262. doi:10.1017/qua.2021.6

Evers, S.W., Al Iawati, Z. Digital skull anatomy of the Oligocene North American tortoise Stylemys nebrascensis with taxonomic comments on the species and comparisons with extant testudinids of the Gopherus–Manouria clade. Swiss J Palaeontol 143, 12 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-024-00311-y