I’m a biologist currently living in Sweden where I’m doing a PhD on investigating the Evolution of Biomes in Madagascar using Plant Phylogenetics at Stockholm University.
Research identifiers: ORCID 0000-0001-9034-4883 | Scopus ID 58319054200 | ResearcherID JGL-8008-2023
Education
PhD in Plant Systematics | 2025-present
Stockholm University | Stockholm, Sweden
“Reconstructing the origin and evolution of Madagascar’s biomes using plant phylogenomics”
PhD in Spatial Sciences | 2023-2025
Czech University of Life Sciences | Prague, Czech Republic
“Predicting temporal change in species distributions from single snapshots”
MSc in Biodiversity, Ecology & Evolution | 2019-2022
Leipzig University | Leipzig, Germany
Thesis entitled”Fruit size evolution is shaped by divergent selective regimes related to disperser availability and habitat type in palms (Arecaceae)”
BSc in Biology | 2016-2019
Leipzig University | Leipzig, Germany
Thesis entitled “Determinants of Microbial Respiration and Biomass across Global Drylands”
Professional experience
7/2025 - 10/2025
Laboratory of Quantitative Ecology, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
R package developer for RRatepol
05/2024 - 08/2024
Czech University of Life Science, Prague, Czech Republic
Field botanist for GRACE
06/2023 - 08/2023
Evolution & Adaptation group, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
Research Assistant with Rachel Souza-Ferreira working on the related evolution of armature in plants and megaherbivory in animals
12/2022 - 05/2023
Vegetation and Macroecology Group, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Halle, Germany
Research Assistant with Maryna Golivets for InvaCost Plants: Literature harvesting for economic costs of invasive plants
04/2022 - 08/2022
Evolution & Adaptation group, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
Research Assistant/Masters Student working at the tropical house of the Zoo Leipzig; Lab work with spectrometer, preparing RNA samples; Phylogenetic comparative methods
10/2019 - 03/2022
Experimental Interaction Ecology group, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
Research Assistant: Field work at MyDiv Experimental site, ECOTRON experimental facility; Lab work with soil samples, invertebrates
06/2019 - 09/2019
Biology, Ecology & Diversity of Invertebrates from Marine Environment (BEDIM), Universidad Catolica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile
Research Internship: Indentification and quantification of marine invertebrates from microplastics samples
04/2018 - 09/2020
Molecular Evolution and Plant Systematics & Herbarium Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Student Assistant: Restoring old herbarium specimen (winter semester), teaching plant identification classes (summer semester)
Institutional responsibilities
Department of Ecology, Environment & Plant Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- 2026 - present Co-organization of bi-weekly ‘PhytoFika’ seminars
- 2026 - present PhD student representative at the Department Board
- 2026 - present Organization committee for Department Conference 2026
- 2026 - present Teaching Organismernas mångfald och evolution (Evolutionary Theory & Botany)
Grants
2026
Albert & Maria Bergström’s Foundation: Research grant for fieldwork in Madagascar: Peponidium
2026
C.F. Liljevalch:s Foundation: Travel grant for fieldwork in Madagascar: Peponidium
2024
Internal Grant Agency - Czech University of Life Sciences Prague: 1-year research project funding: ‘Towards predicting temporal trends in biodiversity change from static patterns’
2020
DAAD-PROMOS scholarship to increase mobility of German university students: Funding for field work campaign in Madagascar (cancelled because of COVID)
2019
DAAD-RISE scholarship for research internships abroad: Funding a 3 month stay in Coquimbo, Chile (June-September 2019)
Other work experiences
2026 (4 weeks)
Madagascar, Africa
Botanical field work along Madagascar’s north-east coast to collect voucher-backed silica samples for genomic work from genera: Uapaca and Peponidium
2024
Czechia
Field botanist for plot-based vegetation surveys in grasslands along the Czech-Austrian border