SupervisoryTeam
Jonas Oliva
Supervisor Details
Email: Jonas.oliva@udl.cat
Organization Type: University
Organization Name: University of Lleida
Short Biography: • 2022- Associate Professor • 2017-2022 “Ramon y Cajal” fellow, UdL, Spain. • 2015- 2017 Associate Professor (Docent), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden. • 2011- 2015. Assistant Professor, SLU, Sweden. • 2008 - 2011. Postdoc, SLU, Sweden. • 2007. PhD, UdL, Spain.
Teresa Cervera Zaragoza
Co-Supervisor Details
Email: tcervera@gencat.cat
Organization Type: Non-academic institution
Organization Name: The Forest Ownership Centre
Short Biography: Teresa Cervera is the director of forest management policies at the CPF in Catalonia. She is highly involved in the carrying forestry projects for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, for instance by being the director of the project LIFE-CLIMARK. She has a large experience in translating research to practitioners and involving private owners in the establishment of policies for forest management. Translational activities include the development of demonstrative sites and writing of best practice booklets for foresters. She has a PhD in Forest Policy by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and she is part-time lecturer at UdL. She has experience in supervising PhD fellows and undergraduate students.
Added Value: Teresa Cervera will facilitate the establishment of field sites and enforce the contact between the PhD candidate and the forestry sector. She has a large experience in EU life projects and POCTEFA projects between Spain and France. She will facilitate contacts with industry and will greatly contribute to expand the network of the PhD candidate and its future employability.
Malin Elfstrand
Other Co-Supervisor
Email: Malin.elfstrand@slu.se
Organization Type: University or other type of organization
Organization Name: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Short Biography: Malin Elfstrand is professor in forest pathology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Sweden. She has published over 40 papers dealing with tree resistance, tree-pathogen and tree- mycorrhiza interactions. She has vast expertise in supervising students and she is part of one of the most internationally recognised forest pathology labs worldwide. She has hands-on expertise in advanced molecular tools to understand interactions, as well as to identify markers for resistance. She has a background in plant biotechnology and molecular biology, and her research focuses on molecular mechanisms in plant-fungus interactions. Overall she is interested in how plants respond when meeting fungi with different lifestyles along the parasitic to symbiotic continuum and work with several different aspects of this question.
Added Value: Malin Elfstrand will contribute to the PhD project by bringing unique skills in terms of molecular tools particularly with transcriptomics, genetics and physiology from the tree side, that will greatly complement the more fungal and microbial oriented expertise of Jonàs Oliva. Malin belongs to a historical institution in terms of forest pathology and also one of the bets universities in forestry worldwide which will increase the visibility of the candidate. At SLU, the PhD student will be able to access several unique and highly relevant doctoral courses (see training section). Malin will also take care of at least two internships carried out by the candidate so the international dimension of the projects is guaranteed.
ResearchGroup
Description: The applicant will work under the supervision of Jonàs Oliva, leader of an active group on microbial ecology and forest pathology, composed of 2 postdocs, 2 PhD students, and three lab technicians. JO is also leader of the consolidated research group e-SPORES and it is associated researcher to CTFC- CERCA center. The mission of the group is to study broad ecological questions with links to practical needs in forestry and agricultural sectors. Our core skills are the use of advanced molecular tools, such as high-throughput sequencing technologies, and the establishment of pathogenicity trials, including home and away soil experiments standard for plant-soil feedback research. We have a strong network of collaborations mainly with Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences where JO worked for 10 years, which will be a key partner in the project.
ResearchLine
Description: Title: Climate change and tree pathobiomes as key players in forest ecosystem health The project will aim at predicting the impacts of climate change on forest health. We will focus in understanding how climate shapes forest microbiomes, with particular interest in the pathobiome. We will also focus with pathogens with known climate signal in their distribution such as Diplodia sapinea for conifers or Phytophthora species for broadleaves. We will use genomic and metabarcoding tools, together with field samplings to underpin key functional traits with predictive value. Another part of the project will include the use of remote sensing tools. The project will attempt to link pathogen distribution with impact in order to produce risk maps in order to assist forest managers decision- making.
Others
Description: Within the Campus Iberus consortium, Jonàs Oliva supervised the MSCA PhD of Dora Straus who defended in 2023. Within the same framework, JO is currently supervising the postdoc of Cristina Vieites.
CareerDevelopment
Objectives
- Future postdoc employment at the University
- Increased employability in the non-academic sector
- International mobility
- Trainings to enhance career opportunities
- Application of postdoctoral grants (MSCA, Juan de la Cierva, etc.)
- Involvement in teaching, supervision, or mentoring
Expected Outputs
- PhD defense
- Publication of articles
- Attendance to international conferences
Training Skills
- Project Management
- Time Management
- Communication to the civil society and public engagement
- Ethics and Research Integrity
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Leadership
- Spanish