Biologiska institutionen | Lunds universitet
Den 22 september hade grundutbildningsnämnden möte. Då diskuterades bland annat utlåtandet från kvalitetsgranskningen, ekonomin, söktryck, ventilation, kursutbud, och kursanalyser. Hela protokollet finns på vår svenska internwebb.
Hi! I’m Griffin, and I started my PhD in the Vision Group in September. My project, supervised by Stanley Heinze and Tobias Uller, will focus on using synapse-level neuron reconstructions to analyze how evolution adapts neural circuits under differing ecological conditions.
I’m from the US, where I did my undergraduate at the University of Chicago. In Chicago, I worked in Bobby Kasthuri’s lab, focusing on using computer vision to compare ommatidia morphology between nocturnal and diurnal Lepidoptera. This work sparked my interest in studying the interplay of behavior and anatomy, and how they adapt to each other in different environments. After university, I moved to England and worked in Cambridge’s Drosophila Connectomics Group, focusing on systematic synapse-level reconstruction of every neuron in the whole brain and ventral nerve cord of Drosophila melanogaster.
I’m interested in using connectomics to explore how neural circuits adapt to ecological challenges. Even the most phylogenetically similar species can exhibit vastly distinct behaviors, and the most diverse set of species can respond similarly to a stimulus. The huge variety of behaviors that complex animals demonstrate is mediated through the incredibly complex network of neurons that make up a nervous system. Through electron microscopy, we can view every neuron in an organism in nanometer resolution, permitting us to study the morphology and connections of each single cell in a brain. I have been fascinated by the black-and-white objectiveness that this level of detail gives us, as well as the beautiful variety of neurons that exist beyond our unaided eyesight.
My PhD project in focuses on comparing the connectomes of the central complex from a diverse set of insect specimens. By comparing the structure and corresponding behaviors and ecosystems of these species, we can start to discover what the basic units of neural change are in both convergent and divergent evolution.
I look forward to meeting and working with you all!
Staffan Ulfstrand har avlidit vid en ålder av 89 år. Hans närmaste är hustrun Astrid samt barnen Anna och David med familjer.
Staffan Ulfstrand var en lysande ledstjärna för utvecklingen i Sverige av forskningen i zooekologi och ornitologi. Under första delen av sin långa vetenskapliga gärning var Staffan knuten till Zoologiska institutionen vid Lunds universitet. Här tog han bland annat både licentiat- och doktorsexamen och blev därefter anställd som extra professor i zooekologi. Efter mer än tjugo års forskningsverksamhet i Lund blev han 1978 ordinarie ämnesprofessor i zooekologi vid Uppsala universitet, där han fortsatte sin framgångsrika vetenskapliga bana.
Staffan fängslades tidigt av fågelsträcket vid Falsterbo, som hade rönt mycket uppmärksamhet efter Gustaf Rudebecks flyttfågelstudier under 1940-talet. Staffan utvecklades snabbt till en första rangens sträckobservatör och han skrev ett flertal årsrapporter och -analyser om fågelsträcket vid Falsterbo som publicerades under 1950-talet. Under de följande två decennierna bedrev Staffan en mycket omfattande och framgångsrik fågelekologisk forskning med många studier och experiment som genomfördes i samarbete med Falsterbo fågelstation men även på helt andra håll, exempelvis Gotland och Östafrika. Särskilt inträngande var studierna av talgoxens och blåmesens flyttning, där Staffan klargjorde den ekologiska bakgrunden till flyttningen med inverkan av både populationstäthet och födotillgång (publicerat 1962, utgjorde även del av hans licentiatavhandling).
När det gällde doktorsavhandlingen valde Staffan nya vägar. Han tog intryck av den då aktuella diskussionen om utbyggnaden av våra sista orörda älvar och av Per Brincks (professor i zooekologi i Lund) visioner om den stora betydelsen av modern ekologisk forskning för samhällsplaneringen. Staffan lade fram sin avhandling om djursamhällenas ekologi i Vindelälvens rinnande vatten 1968, baserad på fleråriga detaljerade fältstudier. Visionerna om den ekologiska forskningens centrala betydelse för miljö- och naturvårdsplaneringen förblev en viktig drivkraft för Staffans gärning som forskare, akademisk lagledare och populärvetenskaplig författare under hela hans liv.
Efter doktorsavhandlingen byggde Staffan upp en forskningsverksamhet vid Zoologiska institutionen i Lund som var uppdelad i två forskningsgrupper – en med inriktning på de rinnande vattendragens djursamhällen och en annan med fågelekologi i fokus. Hans sätt att organisera en effektiv forskarutbildning med internationella symposier och publicering i framstående vetenskapliga tidskrifter blev en fantastisk framgång för den zooekologiska forskningen i Lund.
1978 flyttade Staffan till Uppsala universitet där han fick en professur i zoologisk ekologi. Här uträttade han storverk med sin nya institution som han förde till den internationella forskningsfronten i evolutionär beteendeekologi. Samtidigt verkade han oförtrutet för den ekologiska forskningens utveckling bland annat genom sitt arbete i Naturvetenskapliga forskningsrådet och sitt huvudredaktörskap för den ansedda tidskriften Behavioral Ecology.
Staffan Ulfstrand hade både det talade och skrivna ordets gåva. Detta använde han i sitt mycket framgångsrika populärvetenskapliga författarskap. Boken ”Fågelekologi” (1978) öppnade ögonen hos många fågelintresserade studenter för den nya forskningen med ekologisk och evolutionär inriktning. Senare i livet, huvudsakligen efter pensioneringen, publicerade Staffan böcker och artiklar om forskningsnytt från när och fjärran, som nådde en bred läsekrets och rönte stor uppskattning. Det evolutionsbiologiska perspektivet upphörde aldrig att fascinera, vilket han inte minst förklarade i sin bok ”Darwins idé – den bästa idén någon någonsin haft och hur den fungerar idag” (2008).
Vi är många som känner stor och varm tacksamhet för Staffans stöd, vänskap och strålande entusiasm för forskningen, fåglarna och naturen! Han var en av de stora pionjärerna inom svensk ekologi och ornitologi.
Text: Thomas Alerstam
Hello everyone!
I’m extremely excited to join the Department of Biology as a new Associate Senior Lecturer. I’m based in the Aquatic Ecology unit because I will lead a research laboratory with fish. In addition, I hope to establish strong ties with the Evolutionary Ecology unit, since my research interests lie in the fields of evolutionary biology and evolutionary ecology as a whole.
My work at Lund University focuses on improving our understanding of how the environment influences contemporary evolution – the short-term evolutionary change that allows populations to adapt and persist. My goal is to help make predictions of microevolution in the wild more reliable. To date, predictions are often inaccurate, and recent work suggests that environmental variability is a major contributor to the predictive inaccuracy. In my predictions, I will thus explicitly account for environmental variability. To do so, I combine mathematical models with quantitative genetic methods, applied to Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata, small tropical freshwater fish) both in the laboratory and field.
I arrived in Lund two months ago but am originally from Switzerland. I received my PhD from ETH Zurich, studying mating-system evolution in hermaphroditic snails with Jukka Jokela. I then had a series of postdoctoral fellowships. For three years, I joined Tim Coulson’s lab at the University of Oxford, UK. I then returned to Switzerland, where I worked as a lecturer and Marie Curie postdoc at the University of Zurich, first with Hanna Kokko and then with Lukas Keller. Now I’m really looking forward to getting to know you all and learning what you do!
When I’m not at work, I’m with my husband and our two children, preferably at the beach building sand castles and collecting seashells. In the (admittedly mostly mythical) time I have for myself, I like reading novels, baking, and gardening.
Den 21 september hade Hälsa-, miljö- och säkerhetskommittén möte. Då diskuterades bland annat webbsidor, jordfelsbrytare, hjärt- och lungräddning, utrymning, problem med passerkorten, ventilationen och HMS-kommitténs sammansättning. Du hittar hela protokollet på vår svenska interwebb.
The Biology Doctoral Student Council (BDR) had meetings on 18 September. Among other things, they discussed a non-informal PhD event, updating the PhD guide and nominations for a guest lecturer next year. You can find the minutes on our Swedish internal website.
Den 4 oktober klockan 13.15 har institutionsstyrelsen möte i Stora konferensrummet i Ekologihuset. Följande står på dagordningen.
Hello everyone! My name is Vivian and I am a new PhD student in the unit for molecular cell biology. I work in Olivier Van Akens group where we study plant mitochondria and their ways of dealing with biotic and abiotic stress.
I came to Lund three years ago to obtain my master’s degree in biochemistry. Already during my master’s degree, I joined Olivier’s group for a project work and my master thesis research. Since March I am back as a PhD student and am excited to continue my studies on the evolutionary origin and mechanisms of plant mitochondrial stress responses!
Hi! My name is Corrie Nyquist (they/them/theirs pronouns). I am a postdoctoral researcher in Aquatic Ecology working with Doctors Pablo Urrutia Cordero and Björn Klatt on effects of cyanotoxins on bee health, behavior, and pollination services.
I recently arrived in Lund in July but am originally from Minnesota, U.S.A. and received my PhD from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2022. My dissertation research focused on effects of temperature on biology of winter-active aquatic flies in the family Chironomidae. My research took me from winter field seasons in Minnesota to subarctic winters in Iceland. In Iceland, I investigated thermal acclimatization and survival of cold-adapted chironomids and received a Fulbright Arctic Research Award in 2021 to formally describe and investigate winter chironomid activity in Iceland for the first time.
My research interests continue to lie in aquatic ecology and invertebrate science. I am especially interested in investigations of invertebrate adaptation to anthropogenic impacts, effects of climate warming on aquatic life, aquatic-terrestrial interactions, and insect behavior. With my current research at Lund University, I am excited to delve into aquatic-terrestrial interactions via pollinator activity and toxic cyanobacteria blooms. I will be working mainly with colonies of Bombus terrestris in toxin exposure experiments and investigating biotic and abiotic drivers of cyanotoxin production in cyanobacteria from local Swedish ponds.
When I am not working on my research, I like to be involved in diversity and equity efforts in ecology like the Trans and Gender-nonconforming Fieldwork Alliance. I also like to hike, draw, and write fiction. Recently, I picked up my violin again after not playing for several years and like to practice a bit here and there.
Grundutbildningsnämnden har möte i Synpunkten den 22 september klockan 13.15. Följande står på dagordningen:
Den 5 maj hade grundutbildningsnämnden möte. Då diskuterades bland annat kvalitetsgranskningen, workshop om referenshanteringsprogrammet Zotero, kurstilldelning och utbud, paus av växtbiologispåret, kurs- och utbildningsplaner och kursanalyser. Hela protokollet finns på vår internwebb.
Yesterday, Jessica Abbot, head of the department, held a “State of the Union” speech to the people of the department. The Blue Hall was more than full of employees who wanted to hear more about what is going on and what to expect of the future.
– You may think I make all of the decisions in the department. I make some, but definitely not all of them, Jessica said and started with an organisation chart of the decision makers and their responsibilities at the department.
Due to a very cute puppy, Jessica has very limited availability in real life until the beginning of October when the puppy is old enough to start dog daycare. However, you can always reach her digitally.
How is the “union” doing then? We have a lot of strengths, like world-class research, high-quality education with satisfied students, and enthusiastic and happy colleagues. We also have some challenges in the near future.
The external challenges are among other things IT security, the move to Brunnshög for some of the departments within the Faculty of Science and the merge of the Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, and the Department of Geology. And, of course, the rising costs due to inflation and energy prices.
Joakim Nilsson, administrative manager, described how the overhead (OH) is set and a new policy for co-financing large external grants which do not fully cover OH. All our financial officers have a copy of this policy.
The rent is also increasing fast due to inflation. We will do an overview of our facilities and space requirements to see how we can let go of some of our square meters.
We also have some internal challenges to face, like changes in the composition of our employees with many retirements in the next six years. There is also a new process for the recruitment of new staff (on our internal website) which will harmonise with the faculty. You have to plan in advance because the recruitment process is now a two-year process.
Finally, Jessica gave us an update on the evaluation of the unit structure. Based on the feedback they will develop a consensus structure that will be presented to all staff on 5 October. On 25 October the board will decide whether or not we shall move forward with the new structure. If approved, the new units will be implemented in early 2024.
After some questions and answers, there was an opportunity to mingle and have some snacks. A great way to say hello to colleagues you don’t meet every day.
Text and photo Inger Ekström
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