2018 President Medallist

Dr Erik Sandblom

TALK TITLE: FISH PHYSIOLOGY IN A WARMING WORLD: CARDIORESPIRATORY PLASTICITY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THERMAL TOLERANCE

Erik is a senior lecturer at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg. His research interests revolve around cardiorespiratory physiology and ecophysiology of fishes. During his PhD at the University of Gothenburg with Michael Axelsson (2007), he examined cardiovascular function of fish, particularly in relation to neuro-humoral control and hemodynamics of the venous vasculature. He then did a post-doc at the University of British Columbia with Tony Farrell studying cardiorespiratory responses to temperature and hypoxia in wild salmonid and elasmobranch fishes. A second post-doc back at the University of Gothenburg with Kristina Sundell focused on stress and digestive physiology of farmed fish.

Currently, the work of Erik’s research group at the University of Gothenburg has a broad ecophysiological focus examining cardiorespiratory interactions and acclimation to various environmental perturbations including alterations in oxygen levels, temperature and salinity -many of which have relevance for understanding the impacts of global change. Specifically, physiological acclimation and adaptation to elevated temperature has been an important research topic in recent years, where Erik leads a project funded by the two Swedish research councils examining wild fish from a chronically heated ecosystem outside a Swedish nuclear power plant. He is also involved in work that uses physiological sampling and biotelemetry techniques to assess stress and welfare of fish in aquaculture in collaboration with commercial fish farms.

Erik thanks his mentors, colleagues and students, and realizes that most of his research achievements are the results of inspiring collaborations and fruitful team-work.

See Erik's profile

Prof. Caroline Gutjahr

Director of Department 1: Root Biology and Symbiosis and Research Group Leader "Mycorrhiza and Root Biology", Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPI-MP) in Potsdam-Golm

Prof. Caroline Gutjahr is the Director of Department 1: Root Biology and Symbiosis and Research Group Leader: "Mycorrhiza and Root Biology" at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology and the 2018 SEB Presidents Medallist for Plant Biology. She investigates the developmental biology and function of arbuscular mycorrhiza, a symbiosis between plants and beneficial soil fungi, which enhances plant nutrition with mineral nutrients. Using a combination of molecular biology, genetics, cell biology and biochemistry, she aims to understand plant molecular mechanisms, which regulate and execute remodelling of plant cells that allow arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi to colonize these cells. Furthermore, she is fascinated by the question of how molecular mechanisms interconnect plant and symbiosis development and how this may allow plants to orchestrate arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis with their physiological needs under changing environmental conditions. She cares about agricultural applications and has started using natural variation genetics to investigate the genetic basis of symbiosis-mediated increases in plant performance in the greenhouse and in the field.

After studying Biology at the University of Freiburg, Germany, Caroline received her first training in arbuscular mycorrhiza research in the laboratory of Paola Bonfante at the University of Turin, Italy, where she studied the effect of fungal signaling molecules on root starch metabolism. For her PhD and a short Postdoc, she joined the lab of Uta Paszkowski at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and investigated arbuscular mycorrhiza development in rice. She then moved to the University of Munich (LMU), Germany to establish her own group supported by the Emmy Noether program of the DFG and hosted by the chair of Martin Parniske. Caroline received an ERC starting grant and was appointed as a Tenure Track Professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in 2017 and received tenure in 2021. She recently joined the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm.

Prof. Luke Mackinder

Professor in Plant Biology - Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP), University of York

Luke is a UKRI Future Leader Fellow and a 2018 SEB Presidents Medallist for Cell Biology. His lab is applying high-throughput, systems and synthetic biology in diverse algae to rapidly dissect, predict and build CO₂ fixing pathways. This data is being used to generate a blueprint for the engineering of efficient CO₂ uptake systems in plants, with the goal of improving photosynthesis and ultimately crop yields and biological based carbon capture systems. Luke did a Marie Curie Funded PhD at the GEOMAR-Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany and the Marine Biological Association of the UK. Followed by a 4-year postdoc at the Carnegie Institute for Plant Sciences, Stanford, before starting his own group at York in 2016. The Mackinder Lab is currently funded by the BBSRC, a BBSRC/NSF-Bio partnership award, EPSRC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

: http://www.mackinderlab.com
: @mackinderlab

Esther Ngumbi

Assistant Professor, University of Illinois

Dr. Esther Ngumbi, Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois is renowned for her research on climate change's impact on plant-insect-microbe interactions and sustainable agriculture.
A thought leader and advocate for global food security, she received the prestigious Society of Experimental Biology Presidents Medal in 2018 for her outstanding contributions to science and public engagement. 

: https://www.estherngumbi.com/
: @@EstherNgumbi