So far, 14 PhD students are involved in the graduate school ESTRADE. Eight PhD students (*) are funded by research grants from the Hamburg Initiative for Excellence in Research (LEXI). 5 PhD students have external funding. They are working on different aspects of estuary and wetland science.
| Surname, first name | Institute | Theme |
| Ambroselli, Volker* | UHH, Biocentre Klein Flottbek | Physiological and molecular adaptations to hypoxia in plants of tidal and non-tidal wetlands |
| Butzeck, Christian | UHH, Biocentre Klein Flottbek | Impact of climate change on sedimentation, deposition and vegetation in estuarine marshes of the Elbe River |
| Hansen, Kerstin* | UHH, Institute of Soil Science | Ecosystem functions of tidal marsh soils of the Elbe Estuary |
| Krekeler, Martin* | HCU, Urban and Regional Planning | Estuary Governance and Climate Change: Sustainable Management between formal and informal Regulation in the Elbe Estuary |
| Laux, Jan-Jakob* | UHH, Biocentre Grindel | Dispersal ecology and population genetics of reed beetles (Genus: Macroplea) |
| Lindner, Ann-Cathrin | UHH, Biocentre Klein Flottbek | Investigations on the tRNA dependent Cytokinin biosynthesis in the moss Physcomitrella patens |
| Ludewig, Kristin | UHH, Biocentre Klein Flottbek | Effects of climate change on floodplain grassland vegetation of the River Elbe |
| Magath, Victoria* | UHH, Biocentre Grindel | Population dynamics, diet and habitat use of endangered diadromous fish and lamprey species in the Elbe estuary |
| Markus-Michalczyk, Heike | UHH, Biocentre Klein Flottbek | Survey on salt tolerance of willows in the Elbe Estuary with regard to sustainable flooding prevention and nature protection |
| Müller, David* | UHH, Biocentre Klein Flottbek | Abiotic constraints on photosynthesis in plants of tidal and non-tidal wetlands |
| Müller, Frauke | UHH, Biocentre Klein Flottbek | Impact of management on ecosystem functions (sedimentation, silica cycling) of salt marshes in the Wadden Sea National Park of Schleswig-Holstein |
| Schmidt, Sebastian | UHH, Biocentre Klein Flottbek | Impact of climate change on vegetation, hydrology, peat accumulation and nutrient cycle of peatlands in the metropolitan region of Hamburg |
| Tiedke, Jessica* | UHH, Biocentre Grindel | Molecular basis for hypoxia tolerance in fishes of the Elbe Estuary |
| Weiss, Andreas* | UHH, Institute for Biogeochemistry | Effects of tidal marshes on the biogeochemical transformations in the Elbe Estuary |