KINDLY NOTE
All webinars will be recorded and available on-demand until 14 September 2025.
You can register and access the recordings anytime using your unique registration link.
13 MAY 2025 – 12h00-13h00 (UTC+2)
A concept of zeta diversity in studies of compositional turnover in ectoparasite communities
Prof. Boris Krasnov, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Boris is an ecologist mostly dealing with ecological, evolutionary and biogeographic parasitology using arthropod ectoparasites (mostly fleas) and their mammalian hosts as model associations. Boris graduated from Moscow State University of the former Soviet Union and then (after the collapse of the communist regime) moved to Israel. There, he expanded his scientific interests to ecology of host-parasite interactions (he himself has no idea how and why this happened). Boris collaborates with many researchers from all continents (except Antarctica). At present, he is a Full Professor in the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
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18 JUNE 2025 – 12h00-13h00 (UTC+2)
Zoonoses control and the “One Health” moral dilemma
Prof. Oriel Thekisoe, North-West University, South Africa
Prof. Oriel Thekisoe obtained a PhD degree (Veterinary Science) at Gifu University, Japan. He served as a Postdoctoral Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in 2007 to 2009 at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Japan. He then joined University of the Free State as a Senior Lecturer in 2009 until 2013, and Associate Professor in 2014. He later joined North-West University (NWU) in 2015 as an Associate Professor and is currently a Professor of Zoology. He is the Principal Investigator of the Veterinary Parasitology and Zoonosis Research Laboratory. Initially (2000 – 2015), his research focus was mainly on molecular diagnostics and epidemiology of vector-borne parasitic infections in livestock. However, since 2016 he has expanded his research niche to include zoonotic infections within the “One Health” paradigm.
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9 JULY 2025 – 12h00-13h00 (UTC+2)
Parasites in a warming world
Prof. Christian Selbach, The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
Chris is an aquatic ecologist interested in the broad question of how parasites interact with their environment, and how they function as integral components of ecosystems. His work focuses on trematodes that parasitize a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Chris studies the role of these ecologically important parasites in marine and freshwater habitats to better understand their contribution to the systems’ biodiversity, energetics and food webs, their impact on host behaviour, and their relevance as human and wildlife pathogens. Chris has conducted international research projects in South Africa, New Zealand, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Norway, where he works as an Associate Professor in Ecological Parasitology at UiT in Tromsø.
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6 AUGUST 2025 – 12h00-13h00 (UTC+2)
Parasite biodiversity and species discrimination
Prof. Robert Poulin, University of Otago, New Zealand
Originally from Canada, Robert obtained a PhD from Laval University before joining the University of Otago in 1992. He has since established a research programme in parasite ecology and evolution that focuses on broad questions. His research group has four main research directions. First, his lab investigates the forces shaping the evolution of parasites, in particular the evolution of life history traits such as host specificity, the ability to manipulate host behaviour, and the complexity of transmission pathways. Second, they are studying the role of parasites in aquatic ecosystems, i.e. how they affect community diversity and food web stability, and how parasitism may interact with climate change to influence ecosystems. Third, Robert has long been exploring large-scale patterns of parasite biodiversity and biogeography, searching for the processes behind the diversification and distribution of parasites and diseases. Finally, Robert and his team are now turning toward the role of parasite microbiomes in shaping the host-parasite interaction. Robert received the Eminent Parasitologist Award from the American Society of Parasitologists in 2024, Otago University’s Distinguished Research Medal in 2013, the Hutton Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2011 for contributions to animal sciences, the Wardle Medal from the Canadian Society of Zoologists in 2007 for contributions to parasitology, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2001.