Flávia Fernandes
University of Helsinki, Finland
Flávia is currently a postdoc at the Institute of Biotechnology (HiLIFE) at the University of Helsinki, in Finland, where she studied genome-wide epigenetic markers related with ageing in King penguins. She has been previously working on phylogenetics, population genomics and transcriptomics, always using penguins as a model, mostly King penguins. Despite her love for penguins, she is excited to start a new postdoc in population genomics of a Finnish butterfly system. Flávia also loves swimming, Irish dancing, and going to the sauna.
Nikita Tikhomirov
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
Nikita is a PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Germany.
After several years of surveying the aquatic plants of Siberia, he exchanged his hip waders for
HPC cluster access and now studies the effect of whole-genome duplication on the evolution of
Earth’s largest aquatic plant genus Potamogeton.
He enjoys making complex things appear simple — both indoors through population genetics and coding
and outdoors by walking, running and climbing to all the fun places!
Rhianah Sandean
Swedish University of Agricultural sciences (SLU), Sweden
My research aims to understand the molecular adaptations leading to successful polyploids by investigating genes involved in the physiological stabilisation of newly formed polyploids into established polyploid states. I work with PacBio HiFi and Hi-C data to generate telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies for species within the Cochlearia genus, which I will then use in a graphical pangenomics analysis to compare population-level structural variation spectra across different ploidy levels.
Rajalekshmi Narayana Sarma (Raja)
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
Raja is a doctoral researcher (fancy name for a PhD student) at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany.
She is a biotechnologist who went to Industry and then embarked on a country-hopping adventure in Europe, thanks to generous funders, under the pretext of pursuing a master’s degree (Mobility Erasmus Masters in Evolution).
Now, she is a bioinformatician in training, working on the evolutionary genetics of meiotic recombination rate variation in mice and men.
When not clicking away at her computer or traveling, she enjoys cooking, art, swimming, badminton, reading, languages, and watching movies.
2025
Flávia Fernandes, University of Helsinki
José Costa, University of Porto & University of Montpellier
Marcela Alvarenga, University of Porto & University of Montana
Luis Chica, Washington University
Kartik Singhal, Washington University
Madeline Chase, Uppsala University and Swiss Ornithological Institute
2024
Daniel Méndez Aranda, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Janina Rinke, University of Münster
Karthick Gajendiran, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Luis Chica, Washington University
Miloš Duchoslav, Charles University
Thea Rogers, University of Vienna
2023
Alena di Primio, Royal Netherland Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
Janina Rinke, University of Münster
Kartik Singhal, Washington University
Madeline Chase, Uppsala University and Swiss Ornithological Institute
Miloš Duchoslav, Charles University
2022
Kateryna Pantiukh, University of Tartu, Estonia
Mercè Montoliu Nerín, Uppsala University
Karin Steffen, Uppsala University
Nikos Tsardakas Renhuldt, Lund University
Kalle Tunström, Stockholm University
2020
Madee Chase, Uppsala University
Joan Ferrer Obiol, University of Barcelona
Karin Steffen, Uppsala University
Nikos Tsardakas Renhuldt, Lund University
Kalle Tunström, Stockholm University
2019
Joan Ferrer Obiol, University of Barcelona
Andrew Gustin, University of Washington
Mahwash Jamy, Uppsala University
Karin Steffen, Uppsala University
Alyssa Woronik, New York University
2018
Carly Graham, University of Regina
Guy Leonard, University of Exeter
Daniel McDonald, UC San Diego
Josie Paris, University of Sussex
Angel G. Rivera-Colón, University of Illnois
Hanna Sigeman, Lund University
Alyssa Woronik, New York University
2017
Sarah Baldwin, McGill University
Anna Karnkowska, Warsaw University
Guy Leonard, University of Exeter
Daniel McDonald, UC San Diego
Maria Pachiadaki, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Josie Paris, University of Exeter
Sophie Shaw, University of Aberdeen
Yoshiki Vazquez Baeza, UC San Diego
Elin Videvall, Lund University
2016
Guy Leonard, University of Exeter
Sophie Shaw, University of Aberdeen
Josie Paris, University of Exeter
Lokeshwaran Manoharan, Lund University
Jan Provaznik, University of Southern Bohemia
Elin Videvall, Lund University
2015
Guy Leonard, University of Exeter
Sophie Shaw, University of Aberdeen
Josie Paris, University of Exeter
Ludovic Dutoit, Uppsala University
Jordi Paps, Oxford University
Adam Bazinet, University of Maryland
Alper Kucukural, University of Massachusetts
2014
Guy Leonard, University of Exeter
Sophie Shaw, University of Aberdeen
Adam Bazinet, University of Maryland
Anders Lanzén, Neiker-Tecnalia
Melanie Melendrez, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Daniel McDonald, University of Colorado
Dag Ahren, Lund University
2013
Adam Bazinet, University of Maryland
Daniel Ayres, University of Maryland
Daniel McDonald, University of Colorado
Kristina Cammen, Duke University
Peter Batzel, University of Oregon
Luke Ursell, University of Colorado
2012
Adam Bazinet, University of Maryland
Daniel McDonald, University of Colorado
Dag Ahren, Lund University
Lionel Guy, Uppsala University
Tejashwari Meerupati, Lund University
Matthew Conte, University of Maryland
2011
Adam Bazinet, University of Maryland
Daniel McDonald, University of Colorado
Giovanna Carpi, Fondazione Edmnund Mach
Daniel Ayres, University of Maryland
Henk den Bakker, Cornell University
Ted Gibbons, University of Maryland
Gerardo Nava, Washington University
Lionel Guy, Uppsala University