Afsheen Khan
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD in Botany (2019, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology, Karachi, Pakistan)
My research focuses on forest ecology and climate change using tree-rings, developing climate-environmental relationships, discovering forest dynamics in diverse ecological regions. I also explore the conservation biology in a context of forest disturbance. I have expertise in both field work in remote areas and lab activities. My current projects involve assessing the vegetatio-climatic interactions from seismic prone areas and collecting signals or responses of tree-rings from Himalayan regions

Xiaoxia Li
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD in Physical Geography (2015, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)
My research focuses on xylem phenology and climate change in alpine environments, including assessments of the climate drivers for wood formation in treeline conifers and alpine shrubs. Since several years, I have lead projects on the dynamics of wood formation in relation to climate change on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. I has a nearly decade of experience in field works in remote areas, lab activities and wood anatomy. My current projects involve assessing the spatio-temporal responses of xylem phenology to climate change at high altitudes and latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere

Rafaella Dutra
PhD student
MSc in Plant Biology (2021, São Paulo State University, Brazil)
Research interests: functional plant traits, xylem structure-function, vascular tissues formation, and modelling. I study the links between tree growth and carbon allocation dynamics under climate change conditions. Specifically, my research focuses on quantifying phenological and ecophysiological processes involved in primary and secondary growth in boreal species as a function of abiotic (environmental conditions) and biotic (defoliation) factors, and their variations across time and space

Sara Yumi Sassamoto Kurokawa
PhD student
MSc Agronomy-Plant Protection (2020, São Paulo State University, Brazil)
My research interest is related to plant biology and tree physiology. I work with sugar maple trees, assessing sap flow and maple syrup production, and their potential changes under climate warming. My aim is describing the phenology of sap production at the Northern boundary of sugar maple range, quantify the relationships with climate, and build forecasting models of changes in maple syrup production based on regional warming scenarios

Claudio Mura
PhD student
MSc Forest Science (2020, University of Padova, Italy)
I have broad research interests ranging from plant physiology to forest ecology and stand dynamics. I’m currently working on sugar maple, analyzing intra-species variations in phenology and frost resistance through common garden observations and frost damage experiments. The final goal is to quantify the adaptive potential of different provenances for assisted migration projects

Roberto Silvestro
PhD student
MSc in Forestry and Environmental Sciences (2019, Università di Napoli « Federico II », Italy)
My research interest is at the frontier between biological and environmental sciences. I study the relationships among different scales and processes in forest ecosystems to support a better understanding of past and future forest communities’ dynamics and their roles in driving ecosystem functioning in the context of a changing climate. My research ranges between the forest dynamics related to carbon cycle to the modelling of the response of boreal forest community to multiple environmental factors, specifically, those affecting the process of tree-ring formation.

Hannah McNulty
Graduate Student in Renewable Resources
BS in Biology and Physical Science (2021, Kansas State University, US)
My many interests include wood anatomy, tree growth, ecosystem conservation, and interactions within ecosystems. My research is to assess the adaptive potential of sugar maple trees to the changing climate. To do this I am evaluating periods of wood formation, developing cell growth models, estimating biomass accumulation, and working to identify the processes involved in the allocation of carbon to wood

Bijay Pandeya
MSc student (Agriculture and Forestry University, Faculty of Forestry, Nepal)
BSc Forestry (Agriculture and Forestry University, Faculty of Forestry, Nepal)
Work experience in Forest inventory and Dendrochronology. My research interest are forestry, dendrochronology, dendroecology, quantitative wood anatomy. My study evaluate the impact of resin tapping and climate on the growth of Pinus roxburghii. The study will define the limits of resin tapping and climate change on the growth of Pinus roxburghii which will help to improve the strategies of forest management to regulate resin tapping

Nikita Pawar
Undergraduate student in Tech Electronics and Computer Engineering
Sanjivani College of Engineering, Kopargaon
I am  a Mitacs Intern involved in project of innovative technology for field measurements, using sensors for recording environmental and physiological data in the field, including near-ground remote-sensing data (phenocam), collecting repeated measurements at high temporal resolution

Gian Lima
Undergraduate student in Statistics
Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil
I use my expertise in big data, modelling, and machine learning for assessing tree phenology of maple under climate change. I work with remote-sensing vegetation indices to predict the timings and duration of bud break across Canada and US. This technique helps to upscale observations from the tree to the landscape, reconstruct or predict leafing in maple, and understand the dynamics of the growth processes at wide geographical scales.

Krushna Pradhan
Undergraduate student in Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata.
I am a MITACS student focusing on phenocams. My goal is to use remote sensing data, such as satellite or phenocam imagery, to observe and describe the timing and progression of tree growth in various biomes and ecosystems. I will also be implementing a cost-effective alternative method for studying phenology, analyzing the data, and aiming to generate valuable outcomes for ecologists

Laura Sanín Colorado
Undergraduate student in forestry engineering, National University of Colombia
I am a Mitacs Intern to support a project related to assisted migration and adaptation of plants to climate change. My research interests focus on plant physiology, forest ecology, forest productivity, and stand dynamics

Denise Alano Bonacini
Research Assistant
Undergraduate student in Biology
Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
I am interested in the future of forest ecology in the context of a changing world, and more specifically in the adaptation of plants to the climate changes. I use a variety of field and laboratory skills to work with the lab group on a wide range of projects that treat the adaptations to climate change of sugar maple trees in Quebec.

François Gionest
Research assistant
MSc in Ressources Renouvelables (1999, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi)
I am involved in planning and building permanent plots, experimental designs in the field, data collection from remote stands, installation, programming, and maintenance of weather stations and automatic sensors for ecophysiological investigations. I have a licence as a pilot of drones.

Catherine Tremblay
Research technician
MSc in Ressources Renouvelables (2017, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi)
My role is to support, guide and introduce the students to the best procedures in the lab and in the field. I make sure that the students have the equipment suitable to carry out succesfully their projects. I collaborate with several research teams of the Department for collecting data from experimental designs in agriculture and forestry

Old members

Valentina Buttò
Diego Podadera
Benjamin Marquis
Pratiksha Jain
Siddhartha Khare
Ping Ren