Hi everyone!
My name is Malin Holmberg, and I recently started working as a project assistant for Andreas Nord and the thermal biology group. The project that I will be a part of is an ERC project called HotLife, were we the coming years aim to further our knowledge of how heat tolerance is inherited in birds and whether plasticity influences the evolvability of this. The project will also investigate if there is already a selection on increased heat tolerance happening in the wild using Great tits as a study species.
Having had the fortune of spending my formative years surrounded by first the beautiful arctic nature of Lapland, and then the unique island environment on Gotland my fascination for animals and the natural world started early on. Academically this has resulted in a multidisciplinary background spanning both veterinary medicine as well as zooecology and conservation biology. In 2020 I finished my DVM at the university of Copenhagen with a retrospective study of the reproductive efficiency of Icelandic horses. The programme covered a wide range of subjects, and my interest in animal physiology and immunology were firmly lit. After graduation I spent some time gaining clinical experience before delving back into the academic world. This time I wanted to broaden my understanding of the subject of biology to include wild fauna and the dynamics of natural ecosystems, as well as work related to the conservation of these.
I therefore pursued another master’s degree, this time in conservation biology at Lund university. The two years at the department flew by in a blink of an eye, and I had a great time furthering my theoretical knowledge as well as adding on to my practical skillset toolbox with field/labwork and more data management and statistical analysis experience. My thesis this time was also related to reproductive efficiency, but the study species was somewhat smaller in stature as the focus was urban dwelling Great tits. The project included more of my favourite subjects: animal physiology and immunology, with the goal to determine whether food limitation specifically in terms of omega 3 fatty acids could be one contributing factor to the lowered reproductive output seen in urban birds.
Following my biology master’s I spent 2 years doing internships both at Lund university as well as in zoomedicine at Nordens Ark Zoo, and working as a lab- and project assistant on both bird and invertebrate projects. I also worked as an official veterinarian at Livsmedelsverket, gaining experience from governmental work before landing my current position with the thermal biology group.
In my free time I can usually be found in one of the forests close to Malmö or Lund, hiking or trailrunning. Alternatively, me and my adorable but utterly spoilt Staffordshire bullterrier Minta will wreak some havoc on the agility field at the local dog club! A true millennial, I do of course also enjoy sourdough bread baking and doting on all the potted plants that I have crammed onto the windowsill in my apartment. Greatly looking forward to getting to know you all, I am always up for a chat and a cup of coffee if you want to swing by my office!
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