Bob Muscarella - Chairperson
Associate professor in plant ecology at Uppsala University. Bob is a forest ecologist (mostly working with tropical forest tree communities) and is interested in species ranges, tree diversity patterns across climate and soil gradients, and the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on forest dynamics. Bob was born in the USA and did his PhD at Columbiia University in New York. He moved to Aarhus, Denmark for 4 years as a postdoc, and then arrived in 2019 at Uppsala University.
Mario Vallejo-Marin - Vice chairperson
Professor in Ecological Botany at the Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University. Mario studies the evolution and ecology of plants and their pollinators. Current projects include the rapid evolution and speciation of invasive plants, and the interaction between flowers and bees that use vibrations to pollinate them. Mario was born in Mexico, and did his PhD at Duke University, USA. After a postdoc in Toronto, Mario set up his research lab at the University of Stirling, Scotland where he lived for 14 years. In 2022, he moved to Sweden to join Uppsala University.
Anna Lundgren - Secretary
PhD student at Plant Ecology and Evolution in the Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University. Anna has a Master in Plant Sciences and is a pollination ecologist. Her research focuses on the interactions between plants and animals and how this has shaped the evolution of floral traits.
Sahra Gibson - Treasurer
PhD student at Plant Ecology and Evolution at Uppsala University. Sahra is a peatland ecologist currently working on quantifying the links between plant functional traits and water quality in rewetted peatlands across Scandinavia. She has a multi-disciplinary background in hydrogeomorphology and plant ecology, with a particular interest in the biogeography of bryophytes across northern latitudes.
Concetta Burgarella - Scientific editor
Researcher at INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment) and the Organismal Biology department of Uppsala University. Concetta is an evolutionary biologists and uses population genetics approaches to understand the drivers of species genetic diversity and adaptation, from plants to human populations. Her current research includes the effect of mating systems on plant evolution, the history of domestication and the transition to farming
Alessandro Nobile - Event manager
Alessandro works as a research assistant at the Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Uppsala University, and previously at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Ultuna, supporting projects mostly focused in plant ecology. As a visiting scholar in the program of Plant Ecology and Evolution at Uppsala University, he supported and completed a study on plant biogeography. He graduated at the University of Rome, La Sapienza, in Monitoring and Environmental Restoration. As a freelance student registered to the Swedish University Admission System, Alessandro has a wide interest in Natural Sciences, and is willing to continue studying and working in related subjects, eventually deepening his understanding, hopefully improving his abilities and increasing his chances to contribute in present and future works.
Martin Ryberg - Member
Associate professor in Systematic Biology at Uppsala University. Martin studies fungal diversity on the population, species, and up to kingdom level. Most of his research focus on mushroom forming fungi (Agaricomycotina) and projects include working on the population structure of species with conservation interest, species discovery and description in poorly explored taxa and/or areas, and exploration of trait evolution in, and biogeography of fungi.
Hanna Danko - Member
PhD student in Plant Ecology and Evolution at the Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University. She is broadly interested in biodiversity patterns, vegetation change, and conservation. Her research focuses on how climate and land use influence the composition and distribution of plant communities across spatial and temporal scales. By combining field studies with ecological modeling, she aims to better understand plant diversity dynamics in a changing world.
Julia Kyaschenko - Member
Julia is a forest ecologist at Uppsala University with a PhD in Biology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Her research focuses on fungal communities and their role in plant–soil interactions, examining how fungi influence plant establishment, vegetation dynamics, and ecosystem functioning under different forest management practices, but also how fungal communities are shaped by different environments and human-induced disturbances. Julia has a background in soil ecology, biodiversity research, and applied environmental science, with experience working in collaborative projects involving academic, governmental, and industry partners. In her research Julia usually combines field-based observations and measurements with molecular approaches to investigate how belowground biodiversity shapes nutrient cycling, carbon dynamics, and vegetation patterns under environmental change and sustainable land use.