Biologiska institutionen | Lunds universitet
Den 7 mars hade grundutbildningsnämnden möte. Då diskuterades bland annat arbetet med fördelningsmodell, flytten av GU-lokaler, kurstilldelning, arbetsgrupp som informerar om vilka kurser som finns och kan sökas på andra institutioner och inkomna kursanalyser. Läs mer i protokollet från mötet (ny flik; pdf; 334 kB).
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!
Den 25 april klockan 13.15 kommer grundutbildningsnämnden att ha möte i Stora konferensrummet i Ekologihuset. Följande står på dagordningen:
Spring is here again, and it is time for the most reliable sign of spring – BLAM. BLAM stands for Biology in Lund Annual Meeting and is a conference organised by, and for, our doctoral students. In addition to two invited speakers, the postgraduate students deliver all the lectures and oversee all the poster presentations.
Last Thursday and Friday, we filled Palaestra, with a record 188 registrations.
The quality improves each year, making it increasingly difficult for the prize committee to select winners in the various categories.
The twelve-minute presentation category was awarded to Katie Laschanzky for her talk “Colonisation, virulence or persistence: many sides of Mycobacterium avium.”
The flash talk category was won by Janka Kluge, who discussed “Optic flow neurons in the bumblebee brain.”
Agnes Erland Hansson was the winner in the poster category with her presentation “Transgenerational effects of malaria on offspring condition in great reed warblers.”
The invited speakers also delivered an exceptionally high standard this year. On Thursday, Rachel Jabaily from Colorado College in the USA commenced by outlining her journey from student to professor and described how she has integrated phylogeny, biogeography and teaching in her research on flowering plants.
Michael Rera began on Friday by discussing smurfs – that is, Drosophila flies and fish that have ingested blue pigment – enabling his research group to study ageing.
As usual, BLAM concluded with a large reception in the foyer of the Ecological House, featuring mingling, award ceremonies and celebrations well into the night.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who organised and participated in BLAM this year, making it yet another success.
Text: Inger Ekström
Photo: Inger Ekström and Christina Rengefors
Jan-Åke Nilsson går i pension och blev igår avtackad för sin långa tid vid Lunds universitet. Jocke, som han kallas, började läsa vid universitetet redan på 70-talet. Idag påbörjar han sin 43 holksässong!
Ekologihusets foajé var välfylld då det var många som ville tacka Jocke. Även talen var många. De tog upp allt från anekdoter från fältarbeten till Jockes mustasch. Den gemensamma nämnaren som alla nämnde var hur snäll, trevlig, glad och hur lätt att samarbeta med Jocke är.
Jocke kommer att fortsätta som emeritus och många är de som ser framemot att han nu får tid att göra ännu mer forskning.
Jag stämmer in i kören med lovord och önskar dig all lycka i framtiden.
Text och foto: Inger Ekström
Hi, my name is Yichen Zhou, a new postdoc working with Professor Johannes Rousk. In my project, I will study the impact of climate changes (warming, drought, and other extreme weather) on microbial growth rate and biogeochemistry. I will also focus on the role of plants on the soil microbe under these environmental changes.
I’m originally from China and completed my PhD at the University of Manchester, UK. During my PhD, I studied the mechanisms of plant-soil feedback in tree mixtures and how they vary under different environmental conditions, such as nitrogen gradients and drought frequencies. Through this research, I developed a deeper understanding of how plants influence soil nutrients and microbial communities under environmental changes, as well as how plants respond to altered soil conditions in return. In the future, at Lund, I will explore plant–soil microbial relationships under different environmental changes from multiple perspectives, such as root exudation and microbial growth.
Outside of research, I enjoy hiking, crafting, reading, and traveling. I’m deeply curious about different cultures and really look forward to meeting people from all over the world here.
Hello, everyone! I’m Bijan, and I’m excited to join the Department of Biology as a PhD student under the supervision of Eran Elhaik. My research focuses on developing computational tools to analyse ancient and modern DNA, enabling us to reconstruct detailed migration histories of human and animal populations. I’m currently building an open-source platform—ancient GPS (aGPS)—that integrates genomic, historical, archaeological, and geographic data to map how species have moved and interacted over time. The aim is to turn genetic signals into clear, interpretable insights about past events, migration routes, and the interplay between biology and culture. Looking ahead, I plan to expand this work to include environmental DNA and ancient medical data, exploring how ecosystems and diseases shaped population dynamics.
My path to biology has been shaped by a deep curiosity and a drive to solve complex problems. I began in numerical modeling, designing antennas for satellite communication using advanced mathematical methods. Over time, I moved into software development—building tools for tumor detection in MRI scans, anti-counterfeiting image analysis, and weather forecasting through radio occultation. This led to work in signal processing for GNSS receivers and, eventually, into big data and machine learning. I’ve analysed EEG signals to predict human decision-making, optimised lithium-ion battery production with AI, and contributed to national-scale planning for technologies like the Internet of Things. Across research environments in Iran, China, Austria/Germany, I’ve built a toolkit that brings together precision, creativity, and systems thinking skills I’m now applying to open questions in biology here at Lund.
Beyond the lab, I’m drawn to ideas—especially in philosophy and literature—that explore how science shapes our understanding of the world. I’m particularly interested in the philosophical dimensions of biology, genetics, and mind, and always open to conversations on those topics. I also enjoy photography—capturing the moon is a quiet ritual for me—and I look forward to exploring Sweden’s landscapes by bike and on foot. If you’d like to talk about science, philosophy, or just share a good film recommendation, I’d love to connect. Looking forward to meeting you all!
Den 26 mars hade institutionsstyrelsen möte. Då diskuterades bland annat rekrytering av biträdande lektor eller lektor till Molekylär biovetenskap, strategiska planen, forskningsrådet och regler för projektbidrag. Läs mer i protokollet från mötet (ny flik; pdf; 149 kB).
Den 4 februari hade Hälsa-, miljö- och säkerhetskommittén möte. Då diskuterades bland annat förvaringen av kemikalier, uppföljning av brandfarlig vara, kurs i jämställdhet för chefer, nya hjärtlungräddningskurser, ny organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljöenkät (OSA-enkät), och studiesociala skyddsronder. Läs mer i protokollet från mötet (ny flik; pdf; 149 kB)
Hi, my name is Jan Kreider. I have started my first postdoc project early this year in the groups of Charlie Cornwallis and Tobias Uller. During my time in Lund, I will work on the evolution of multicellularity using a combination of theoretical modelling and empirical research with green algae as a model system.
I am originally from Germany, where I studied biology, history, and philosophy at the University of Göttingen. During my PhD at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, I developed individual-based simulation models to study the evolution of eusociality, the self-organised emergence and evolution of division of labour, and the evolution of ageing in social organisms. Additionally, I conducted behavioural experiments and transcriptomic analyses with a facultatively social bee to study how plasticity in social behaviours could have paved the way for the evolution of complex insect sociality.
In Lund, I will work with green algae, in which some unicellular species can plastically form multicellular groups in response to certain environmental triggers. Has such a plastic expression of multicellularity been crucial for the evolution of obligate multicellularity? Are similar regulatory mechanisms involved in the plastic expression of multicellularity as in the evolution of obligate multicellularity? Do particular plastic responses facilitate or inhibit the evolution of multicellularity? By the end of my project in Lund, I hope to provide answers to these questions.
I am a chemist employed as a research engineer at Lund’s Protein Platform (LP3). I will participate in the group’s duties to grow bacteria, yeast, and insect cells for over-expression and purification of proteins. In my previous experience at Protein Production Sweden at Göteborg University, I used bioreactors for the high-density growth of the yeast Pichia pastoris. This experience is essential for my role at LP3, as LP3 has received several grants to provide material for neutron radiation experiments, especially for the new European Spallation Source (ESS) coming online in November 2026. Once I verify a few protocols, we will use the newly delivered bioreactor at LP3 for growth experiments in D2O (‘heavy water’). This will yield proteins and lipids with a high content of deuterium, optimal for neutron scattering.
In my free time, I enjoy spending it with my family and friends. To describe a small part of my life throughout the year: in spring, we tend to our small garden and paint the house veranda floor. In summer, we frequently go swimming in the ocean. I like to read biographies and crime novels. In recent years, authors I. Carlberg, P. Svensson, and M. Connelly have made a deep impression on me with their descriptions of human motivations and natural wonders, and how the prescription and abuse of benzodiazepine-type drugs have become the norm for many.
I especially enjoy spending time in nature, hiking, and now that our children are past their teens, my wife Pia and I go alone for weekend mushroom and berry picking in autumn. In winter, we spend more time indoors but enjoy skiing and hiking during any season.
Hi! My name is Qiuxiang Tian, and I am a new visiting researcher in the Functional Ecology division in the lab of Professor Johannes Rousk. I will study at this university for one year.
My research is mainly focused on forest soil carbon cycling, and I am familiar with the determination of SOC fractions and SOC components. I have done some research on how topography (including slope position, slope degree, and also elevation) affects soil carbon accumulation. I also work on how exogenous carbon input influences soil old carbon mineralisation (known as priming effect) and new carbon sequestration using stable isotope tracing techniques. Currently, my research involves studying the impact of mycorrhizal type on forest carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in AM- and EcM-trees co-existed forests.
I love learning and trying out new things. I am also interested in the culture around the world. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time outdoors, take photos and get to know the local plants.
So, if you want to chat about Chinese culture, or feel like discussing science, soil, or anything else, feel free to drop by my office. I look forward to getting to know many of you!
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