gregarius ad lignum putridum in silvis
Databases, biodiversity informatics
Metabarcoding, molecular identification, molecular taxonomy, eDNA
Dead wood, species interactions and successions, entomology, mycology, molecular and community ecology
Fungivory of Coleoptera, host selection, trophic and chemical ecology, ecology of insects and fungi, interaction webs
Nature conservation, boreal, temperate, and montane ecosystems
As a wood ecologist studying beetles and wood-decaying fungi, I received MSc and CSc (∼PhD) in entomology at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, supervised by Prof. R.D. Zhantiev, and my second PhD in plant biology (mycology) at the University of Helsinki in 2009 with Dr. Tuomo Niemelä. My doctoral studies of fungus–beetle interactions in the LUOMUS – Finnish Museum of Natural History contributed to the PUTTE research programme for deficiently known and threatened forest species. In 2009, I joined Prof. Otso Ovaskainen and Prof. Ilkka Hanski in the Metapopulation Research Centre to explore mycelial interactions of wood-decaying fungi in fallen and living trees. Work with species interaction and taxonomic databases brought me to TDWG and to GBIF, where I work since 2014.
As a GBIF lead scientific officer, I focus on global biodiversity data and research use of GBIF, and on leading GBIF’s strategic priority to building the scientific for understanding global biodiversity. This teamwork effort aims to reduce knowledge gaps, to enable, expand and diversify the uptake of GBIF-mediated data, support the evolution of fundamental data-driven and open biodiversity research, to ensure data exchange and reuse of data, data citations – all to increase GBIF’s relevance to science and to improve best practices for data in academia and in higher education. Biodiversity data diplomacy work in GBIF is also driving change across national and domain-specific data cultures.
My research have focused on three major study lines — beetle fungivory, disclosing biodiversity in dead wood with metabarcoding, and international programmes in higher education. Three smaller work lines are mycology, conservation, and outreach — see Projects for more details on my collaborations, teaching, students, and funding, and Map for summary of 175 expeditions, as well as collecting, inventory, and photography trips. I have authored and co-authored over 100 publications, including 70+ papers in the international peer-reviewed journals as well as 3 books, some species inventory reports and scientific illustrations; I also contributed to 70 book translations in natural history.
Work & study
2014 Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Secretariat
2008 Metapopulation Research Group, University of Helsinki
2002 LUOMUS – Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki
1995 Department of Entomology, Lomonosov Moscow State University
1993 Moscow State 57 School
1985 Moscow School 1234
Degrees & titles
2014 Associate professor / Docent of Mycology, University of Helsinki
2009 PhD in Plant Biology, University of Helsinki
2003 CSc in Entomology, Lomonosov Moscow State University
2000 MSc in Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University
Positions of trust
GBIF Lead scientific officer
GBIF delegate to the Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Work package leader EU HORIZON Biodiversity Digital Twin (BioDT)
Science advisory board member European Nucleotide Archive
Advisory board member EU HORIZON MAMBO: Modern Approaches to the Monitoring of Biodiversity
Principal investigator of the Academy of Finland Postdoctoral project
Academic awards
2023 Founders’ Award, European Mycological Association
2021 Most active editor, Biodiversity Data Journal: Pensoft
2020 (in a committee) Best New Conference or Event, Association of Association Executives
2018 (in a team) #Top20Article Biological Revews, Wiley
2017 (in a team) National award: science publication, Ministry of Culture and Education, Finland
2016 (in a team) Nature book of the year, Metsän salainen elämä, WWF Finland
2013 Excellence in Reviewing – Fungal Ecology: British Mycological Society & Elsevier
1998 Excellent performance “Polypore beetles of Moscow Region”, IFAW Russia
Editor
Biodiversity Data Journal
Research Ideas and Outcomes
Metagenomics & Metabarcoding
MycoKeys
Mycology
Earth System Science Data
Coleoptera Poloniae
GBIF reports on data fitness for use
GBIF Documentation Editorial Panel
AST-Astrel
Reviewer
Annales Botanici Fennici
Biodiversity and Conservation
Biodiversity Data Journal
Biodiversity Information Science and Standards
Biological Reviews
Diversity and Distributions
Ecography
Ecological Informatics
Fungal Ecology
Insect Conservation and Diversity
IPBES
Karstenia
La Terre et la Vie
Nature Communications
Peerage of Science
Studia forestalia Slovenica
Systematic Biology
Scientific consultancy
Cinétévé / Arte, international documentary TV series “Of trees and forests, the invisible world”
LESFILM Wildlife film studio, documentary project on Northern taiga
Facilitation
| Event | Year | Country | Coordination |
|---|---|---|---|
| biodiversity_next | 2019 | Netherlands | Program committee |
| XVIII Congress of European Mycologists | 2019 | Poland | Program committee |
| GBIC2: II Global Biodiversity Informatics Conference | 2018 | Denmark | Session |
| Information Technologies in the Research of Biodiversity; conference | 2018 | Russia | Program committee, Session |
| XVII Congress of European Mycologists | 2011 | Greece | Session |
Profiles
Facebook ξ group on wood biology
Flickr profile
Google Scholar publications
iNaturalist profile
LinkedIn profile
ORCID 
orcid.org/0000-0002-2919-1168
Publons profile
ResearchGate profile
Twitter profile
University of Helsinki TUHAT
MSU Lomonosov Mentors Club profile
