PhD students at the UPSC retreat in September 2025 during a workshop on graphical abstract illustration (Photo: Elena Mondino, instructor at "Visualize your Science").
Today, on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate the next generation of scientists. This day highlights the importance of equal participation and visibility in research.
Between 11 February 2025 and 11 February 2026, twelve PhD students from UPSC successfully defended their theses. Each defence marks the completion of several years of dedicated research and represents an important contribution plant science, spanning a wide range of scientific questions, methods and perspectives.
Ten of the newly graduated PhD researchers were women. Together with their fellow graduates, they reflect the breadth of talent contributing to research at UPSC. This is a milestone worth highlighting, not as an end point, but as a reflection of the many women who help shape the shared scientific environment.
PhD students are at the heart of scientific progress. Through curiosity, persistence and creativity, they drive research forward while also helping to shape the future research community. Ensuring that talent can thrive regardless of gender is essential - not only for fairness, but for the quality and relevance of science itself.
On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate all PhD graduates from the past year and their contribution to plant science. The day also highlight the importance of creating research environments that support and encourage all genders.
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science was established by the United Nations General Assembly to promote equality and empower women and girls to participate fully in science. Coordinated by UNESCO and UN Women, the day is marked worldwide each year. In 2026, the day marks its eleventh anniversary, under the theme “From vision to impact: Redefining STEM by closing the gender gap,” with a focus on highlighting inclusive practices in scientific fields.
PhD defences at UPSC, 11 February 2025 - 11 February 2026:
Varvara Dikaya - Broken Sm-ring: A quest to the source of the cold sensitivity of the A.thaliana SmE1 splicing mutant
Link to Varvara’s thesis
Sanchali Nanda - New Light on Photoprotection. Spectral resolution of non-photochemical quenching
Link to Sanchali’s thesis
Mikko Luomaranta - Decoding lignin in Swedish aspen: Paths to Better Feedstocks and Resilient Trees
Link to Mikko’s thesis
Alice Marcon - Regulation of flowering time and phenology in Populus trees
Link to Alice’s thesis
Tinkara Bizjak-Johansson - Some aspects on boreal forest microbiotas and nitrogen
Link to Tinkara’s thesis
Özer Erguvan - Ultrastructural and molecular basis of cell-cell adhesion in plants
Link to Özer’s thesis
Tuuli Aro - Colder in a warming world: Global warming challenges low temperature resilience of boreal trees
Link to Tuuli’s thesis
Laura Tünnermann - Organic nitrogen: molecular regulation of uptake and physiological implications
Link to Laura’s thesis
Léa Bogdziewiez - Quantitative imaging and mechanics of single plant cell adhesion
Link to Léa’s thesis
Anna Renström - Physiological and molecular responses to nitrogen-stimulated cambial growth in aspen
Link to Anna’s thesis
Sara Rydman - A systems approach to identify candidate genes driving salicinoid diversity in Populus tremula
Link to Sara’s thesis
Elena van Zalen - Comparative co-expression network analysis of abiotic stress response in boreal conifers
Link to Elena’s thesis