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
Makrina Diakaki (Wageningen University & Research)
Makrina is a phytopathologist and microbial ecologist specialising in sustainable cropping systems. She recently obtained her PhD at Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands where she explored the involvement of seed microbiota in the suppression of plant diseases. Her academic interests include the seed, plant and soil microbiome, phytopathology, disease suppression, microbial ecology and sustainable approaches in agriculture, especially in relation to plant health. She holds a Biological Sciences BSc from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland as well as a Crop Protection MSc from the University of Göttingen, Germany and a Plant Health and Sustainable Cropping Systems MSc from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. She organizes and chairs the Seed Microbiome Working Group for early career researchers.
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.
Members
Current Members
Makrina Diakaki (WUR) • 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) • Pawan Kumar (University of Chicago) • 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)
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)