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Hello all!

I’m Samantha, a new PhD student with Andreas Nord. My project will investigate the evolvability of heat tolerance in endotherms, and whether and how phenotypic plasticity may affect that evolvability. To that end, I will be running artificial selection and crossbreeding experiments with Japanese quail.

I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biology at Messiah University in the US, which was also where my longstanding love of birds crystallized into scientific interest. I launched into fieldwork collecting data on avian diversity and abundance across the North American great plains, a habitat where species are in especially steep decline. How will birds in all their magnificent diversity fare in a warming, human-impacted world? What can we do to help them thrive?

To answer my questions, I knew I needed to get into research, and that was why I set my sights on Lund University for a Master’s in Animal Ecology. This degree helped me cultivate skills in statistics and R, experimental design and evolutionary thinking. My thesis involved behavioral assays in Passer sparrows to explore how novel behavioral trait values can arise in a hybrid system. I am thrilled now for the opportunity to continue my education in the fantastic research environment of Lund University. I look forward to learning more about the physiology of birds and contributing to the advancement of our knowledge of the evolutionary constraints which may shape their future success.

While I may have birds on my mind a lot (both for research and recreation), I’m also a classically-trained musician with a couple of degrees in horn performance. My other hobbies include hiking, reading, novel-writing, and board games—especially Wingspan! Maybe you’ll join me for a game sometime?

juni 24, 2025

Inger Ekström

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Hi everyone! My name is Katherine Mihalczo. I just started my PhD on insect eco-physiology with Andreas Nord. During my project, I will be investigating the thermal responses and adaptations of bees.

After graduating with my bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, I spent a few years trying to find my career niche. Eventually I began working at the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee, where I was lucky enough to assist with an annual week-long BioBlitz. I spent several of these days searching for the endangered rusty patched bumblebee in Appalachian mountain meadows. I became so captivated by the wild bees we found that I knew instantly that I wanted to pursue a master’s degree to study them.

While studying at Utrecht University in the Environmental Biology program, I designed and completed three research projects related to bees. My master’s thesis investigated phenological advances of wild bees, my internship project found complementary pollinator networks on bean and maize crops, and my elective credits project looked at whether a honeybee’s age is related to her foraging behavior. Through all these projects, my fascination with bees never abated and I am so thrilled to continue researching them here at Lund!

When I’m not thinking about bees, I enjoy hiking, fiber arts, and reading. I also love horror movies, sci-fi novels, and playing Dungeons & Dragons. I am looking forward to exploring Sweden this winter by going snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. I’m excited to meet you all in the coming time, please feel free to stop by my office for a chat if you’d like!

juni 23, 2025

Inger Ekström

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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!

juni 19, 2025

Inger Ekström

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I’m Rustem, I’ve recently started my PhD in Courtney Stairs’ lab, where I’m studying the genome of breviates — an underexplored lineage of protists closely related to animals. My academic path began with a bachelor’s in organic chemistry, followed by a master’s in evolutionary biology, during which I built a metabolic model for a prokaryote. In one internship, I also worked on modelling a community of prokaryotes and microalgae; in another, I explored a protist metagenome. So, it felt only natural to now take on perhaps the most challenging microorganisms around: protists living in complex bacterial communities.

Right now, my main goal in the lab is to figure out how to stop accidentally murdering them all the time. Once I succeed, I’ll culture them, extract their genomes, and investigate their evolutionary history — their relationship to other eukaryotes, what they were like in the past, and how they came to be this way.

Outside the lab, I’m also passionate about evolution in a broader sense — especially historical linguistics. I like reading about history and pigments, or occasionally playing an obscenely long EU4 campaign; I also enjoy impersonating people. You can find me in Building A — I’m happy to connect and exchange ideas. See you around!

juni 18, 2025

Inger Ekström

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Hi everyone!

I am Eleni and I just started my PhD, where I focus on the genomics of Microcystis, a toxin-producing cyanobacterium responsible for harmful algal blooms in freshwater systems around the world. My work aims to unravel how genomic diversity, especially related to toxin production, is generated and maintained in natural environments. Using bioinformatics, genome analysis, and field and lab experiments, I explore the complex dynamics behind these blooms and their ecological impacts.

My academic journey began with a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Sciences at Aegean University in Greece, where I developed a strong interest in how global environmental changes affect aquatic ecosystems. This early exposure to aquatic ecology and oceanography sparked my passion for marine life and the urgent need for sustainable solutions to protect it. Wanting to know more, I pursued a Master’s degree in Aquatic Science and Technology at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where I gained skills in data analysis, ecological modelling, and fieldwork. Here, I also participated in major research surveys in the North Sea, collecting and analysing data on fish stocks and predator-prey interactions.

To expand my expertise into molecular and genetic approaches, I completed a second Master’s degree in Bioinformatics at Lund University. During this time, I learned about genome assembly, gene annotation, and sequence analysis. My thesis focused on integrating multi-omics data to study gene expression in ovarian cancer, where I developed bioinformatics workflows and strengthened my programming skills in R and shell scripting. I also worked as a teaching assistant, helping new bioinformatics students grasp complex concepts and apply them in practice.

Bringing together my background in bioinformatics, laboratory research, and aquatic ecology, I am excited to participate in this research project aiming to advance our understanding of microbial genomics and ecosystem dynamics. I am particularly interested in combining genomic tools with ecological data, exploring new methods and approaches.

In my free time I read, spend time outside or enjoy a good meal and a glass of wine. Looking forward to meeting you!!

maj 27, 2025

Inger Ekström

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Hey there, I’m Sophie. I have just joined the Speciation, Adaptation, and Coevolution research group as a PhD student supervised by Øystein Opedal, Magne Friberg and Ola Olsson. My project focuses on floral trait evolution, and I am going to investigate how human land use affects floral trait evolution of a wild plant by changing pollinator communities in the landscape. I’m trying to predict how changes in land-use shift the optimal state of a floral trait, and how many generations it would take a population of wild plants to adapt and reach that new optimum.

I split both my bachelor’s and my master’s degree in biology between LMU Munich and Lund University. For my bachelor thesis, I investigated the effect of human disturbance on young Eurasian Curlews, but since the start of my master’s degree, I have been fascinated with plant-pollinator interactions.

Throughout my master’s, I have been working with pollen identification, and for my thesis I investigated the effect of the population size of a rare plant on its reproductive success through varying pollinator communities and pollinator behavior at sites with different plant population sizes. Now I am very excited to start working at the interface of floral evolution, pollination ecology, and human impacts.

In my free time I enjoy exploring the outdoors on foot (preferably in the company of my dog) or on horseback, trying to travel to remote places by train, playing board games, and reading. I’m looking forward to meeting many of you over the next few years!

april 23, 2025

Inger Ekström

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