Who We Are
The Team
We are a group of early career researchers working on seed microbiomes. We communicate actively via quarterly online meetings and group on Discord. During the meetings, participants have the chance to present their work and receive feedback from others working in the same area of expertise. Our aim is to collaboratively advance science in our field and develop a network of academics with shared scientific interests.
Eligibility Criteria
New members should be currently working on the topic of seed microbiomes in academia • Members should be doing a PhD or have recently completed their PhD and consider themselves early career researchers • Members should be willing to become actively involved by attending most meetings, giving at least one talk and participating in the discussions • MSc students and professors are not within this target group
Organizers
Carolina Lobato (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Carolina is a microbial ecologist with a strong interest in plant-microbe interactions and the role of seed-associated microbial communities in plant health. She is working at the Institute for Biological Data Science in the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf as a postdoctoral researcher. Her research explores plant-microbe interactions, focusing on the genetic determinants underlying seed microbiome modulation. She completed PhD at Graz University of Technology, Austria, where she investigated how domestication shapes seed microbiomes and their functional contributions to plant fitness. She organizes and chairs the Seed Microbiome Working Group for early career researchers.
Cristian Salinas-Castillo (Purdue University)
Cristian is a biologist working in plant–microbial interactions. He is currently a graduate research assistant in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University, USA, where he investigates the tomato seed microbiome and its effect for plant health and stress response. Cristian holds a Biology BS from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, where he explored the cocoa seed-borne microbiome and its plant growth promotion traits. Later, during a short-term internship at Purdue University, he studied the quinoa seed microbiome under cadmium stress. He has been a member of the Seed Microbiome Working Group since 2022 and participates as an organizer since December 2025.
Gillian Bergmann (Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy Potsdam)
Gillian is a microbial ecologist interested in the assembly and function of seed microbiota of wild and cultivated plants. She currently works as a postdoctoral researcher in Ahmed Abdelfattah’s group at the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy in Potsdam, Germany. Her research explores how seed microbiota persist over time, and how plant traits may modulate seed microbiota composition. She received her PhD in Ecology from the University of California-Davis, where she studied the contributions of floral transmission to bacterial community assembly in developing seeds. She is a co-chair of the Seed Microbiome Working Group and an organizer for the scientific program at SeedCon.
Members
Current Members
Carolina Lobato (HHU Düsseldorf) • Kristina Michl (TU Graz) • Davide Gerna (Kew Royal Botanical Gardens) • Cristian Castillo (Purdue University) • Adrian Wolfgang (TU Graz) • Gaurav Pal (North Carolina State University) • Clara Martinez-Arias (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) • Itumeleng Moroenyane (Stellenbosch University) • Marwa Moumni (UNIVP Marche) • Expedito Olimi (University of Southhampton) • Joshua Fowler (University of Miami) • Nina Bziuk (KU Leuven) • Emily Burgess (Utah State University) • Gillian Bergmann (ATB Potsdam) • Matthias Schweitzer (TU Graz) • Daniel Hofle (ATB Potsdam) • Louna Colaert-Sentenac (INRAE) • Logan Suteau (INRAE) • Isabella Koegl (TU Graz) • Joseph King (Royal Holloway University of London) • Jonathan Binder (Royal Holloway University of London) • Simone Bosco (University of Torino) • Xin Yuan Li (Zhejiang University) • Verena Gschiel (University of Southhampton) • Holly Champney (University of Southhampton) • Xiangning Qi (University of Southhampton) • Rachel Tavares (University of Massachusetts Amherst) • Anastasija Jušković (Austrian Institute of Technology) • Eugenio Borgo (WUR) • Marieke Elfferich (Leiden University) • María Negre Rodríguez (Leiden University) • Joséphine Pottier (NIOO-KNAW) • Irene Sanz Puente (ATB Potsdam) • Shiva Dubey (University College Dublin)
Former Members
Frederik Bak (University of Copenhagen) • Kristina Bichler (Helmholtz Zentrum München) • Nuria Wentzien (Universidad de Granada) • Abby Sulesky-Grieb (Michigan State University) • Katherine Cuadros-Patiño (TU Graz) • Anubhav Thakur (YSP UHF Nauni) • Stephanie Klaedtke (ITAB) • Rachel Herschlag (Penn State University) • Shaheen Bibi (Penn State University) • Pawan Kumar (University of Chicago) • Makrina Diakaki (co-founder, WUR)