The Biodiversity Data Lab
Who We Are
Current Members
Tobias Andermann
Computational Biologist & Group Leader, Assistant Professor
I am a biodiversity researcher dedicated to providing data and computational tools for combatting the global biodiversity crisis. I am working in the intersection of molecular biology, spatial ecology, and machine learning, with the mission to provide a more comprehensive view on the distribution of biodiversity, including hidden diversity of inconspicuous and even undescribed species through the use of environmental DNA.
Adrian Baggström
Nature Geographer, PhD student
I am a PhD student focusing on the fields of biodiversity, geomatics, remote sensing and machine learning. My interest is to research the possibilities of assessing biodiversity through remote sensing techniques such as spectral imagery, lidar and synthetic aperture radar. By combining these techniques with existing geospatial data and deep learning I aim to develop tools that contribute to the monitoring of biodiversity at different scales.
Monica Guilera Recoder
Ecologist, PhD student
As an ecologist foccused on the study of fungal biodiversity in forest ecosystems, my goal is to discover the unknown and protect the known. My PhD research aims to optimize existing environmental DNA metabarcoding techniques—both in fieldwork and labwork—to assess fungal biodiversity more efficiently. With these methods, I also seek to study the impact of forestry and other human disturbances on fungal diversity.
Beilun Zhao
Environmental Biologist, Postdoc
As an environmental biological researcher, my primary objective is to expand our understanding of spatial and temporal biodiversity to effectively contribute to natural conservation efforts. My research focuses on investigating the correlation between species' ecological niches and the state of environmental DNA (eDNA) in various ecosystems. By exploring this connection, I aim to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of eDNA-based methods in biodiversity monitoring, spanning both aquatic and terrestrial environments.
Jakob Nyström
Data Scientist, PhD student
The ultimate goal of my research is to provide policymakers and companies with data and tools to make better decisions for nature and biodiversity. My research focuses on quantifying natural and anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity patterns and developing causal and predictive models for biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, across taxonomic and geographical scales. This integrates various biodiversity measurement types (traditional surveys, eDNA and others) with remote sensing data and computational methods such as Bayesian hierarchical models and deep learning. Another key aspect in my research is how to aggregate biodiversity measurements into site- and ecosystem-level metrics in ways that provide accurate, relevant and timely insights.
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Leveraging my background in data science consulting from the private sector, I aim to combine scientific insights and understanding of how businesses operate to develop the foundational data products and tools for incorporating biodiversity into core decision processes.
Jan Borgelt
Computational Ecologist, Postdoc (visiting)
As a wildlife photography enthusiast, I am inspired by the remarkable adaptations and diversity of species that exists today. My academic background centers on understanding environmental changes across ecosystems, giving me a broad perspective on the challenges ecological systems face today. I am particularly interested in applying data science and innovative technologies to develop computational methods that address the biodiversity crisis and contribute to its mitigation. My research focuses on quantifying the effects of anthropogenic stressors on biodiversity, such as land use, plastic pollution, and invasive species. As part of my research stay at the Biodiversity Data Lab, I am working with eDNA insect data to deepen our understanding of various insect taxa and their diversity across space, aiming to incorporate insects more effectively into impact assessment modeling.
Vun Wen Jie (VJ)
Ecologist, Postdoc
Biodiversity is integral in the process that support all life on Earth. In order to support effective actions to halt biodiversity loss and the impacts this has on ecosystems, determining the causes of biodiversity changes is essential. Even so, changes in biodiversity trends are rarely causally linked to possible drivers. My interest is thus to implement a framework that would allow for the detection and attribution of biodiversity change to drivers and hopefully strengthen the bridge between biodiversity science and policy.
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This postdoc position is a collaborative position supervised by Thomas Schön and Dave Zachariah at the Department for Information Technology and the Biodiversity Data Lab.
Jiacheng Ling
Biogeographer, Master student
I am an ecologist specializing in biodiversity and species distribution modeling. While large-scale modeling approaches using bioclimatic variables are useful for assessing biodiversity patterns, applying these models to smaller, localized areas—such as natural reserves or farmlands—requires more refined predictors. Since high-resolution local environmental data can be costly to obtain, there could be alternative predictors offering a more efficient way to capture key ecological patterns. My interest focuses on geodiversity (spatial heterogeneity) to better understand its relationship with biodiversity. Specifically, I aim to explore how geodiversity influences biodiversity patterns across different habitats and taxa, and also to find effective geodiversity measures that can explain biodiversity patterns at smaller, localized scales. The goal of my research is to provide actionable insights that can support local biodiversity conservation and management efforts.
Previous Members
Alice Satre
Environmental biologist, Intern
I am a Master student in life and environmental science. My interests are mainly focused on forestry, ecology and biodiversity conservation. I am taking a gap year to be able to gain experience and to learn how to better understand and protect biodiversity, starting by an internship at the Biodiversity Data Lab of Uppsala University.
Shuangshuang Wang
Forensic microbiologist, PhD student
As a forensic microbiological researcher, I do a lot of work on the human microbiome and human DNA. Thanks to this exchange opportunity, I have a chance to do some research on environmental microbiology. My current research focuses on combing the forensic genetic marker and environmental DNA to explore the extends of individual fungal mycelia. Our research hopes to reveal the distribution patterns of fungi in forests, including the number of individuals inferred from environmental samples.
Filipe Almeida
Evolutionary Biologist, Master student
I am a master's student in the Erasmus Mundus Programme in Evolutionary Biology (MEME). My main research interests lie in applying and developing computational methods to support biodiversity conservation efforts. At present, my focus is on a project aimed at predicting the conservation status of fungal species in Sweden using machine learning techniques. We aim to provide conservation status for species never evaluated before, providing information that will aid biodiversity conservation.
