Julia V. Gerasimova

RESEARCH INTEREST In the past years, my research focuses on the systematics of the genus Bacidia s. lat. (Lecanorales, Ramalinaceae), including the taxonomy, diversity, ecology, phylogeny, and genomics of the studied genus. My research integrates various tools and approaches based on field and herbarium collections, including phylogenetics, bioinformatics, and genomics. In recent years, I became interested in secondary lichen compounds (mainly PKS), altitudinal and warmth/cold adaptation, and the complexity of lichen association focusing on the cyanobacteria in the lichen symbiosis, which I addressed in my projects (see below). WORK IN THE HERBARIA AND FIELD WORK EXPERIENCE • Germany (M, FR, GLM); Austria (GZU); Finland (H); Estonia (TU); Sweden (UPS, S); Russia (LE). • Expeditions to Caucasus (Georgia); Russia: Eastern Siberia (Stanovoye Highland; Baikal Lake), Far East (Primorskiy Krai and Khabarovsk Krai); European part (Volgograd, Kaliningrad, Ulyanovsk, and Leningrad regions); Germany (alpine area). CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS • Bauhin 2022: 400 Years of Botanical Collections, September 15-16, 2022, Basel, Switzerland. Title: Using herbarium collections to investigate cold and altitudinal adaptations in crustose lichen species (Poster presentation). • The 10th Congress of the International Society of Symbiosis and 3rd International Conference on Holobionts, July 24-28, 2022, Lyon, France. Title: High diversity of Type I Polyketide genes in lichen-forming fungi as revealed by the comparative analysis of 23 lichen genomes (Oral presentation). • Invited speaker at the laboratory seminar of Imke Schmitt’s group, January 25, 2022. Title: Genomic studies on Bacidia, small but characteristic old-growth forest dwellers. • The 9th International Symposium in Lichenology (IAL9). August 1-6, 2021, Bonito, Brazil Title: Comparative genomics of free-living and lichen algae (Poster presentation). • The 8th International Symposium in Lichenology (IAL8). August 1-5, 2016, Helsinki, Finland Title: Bacidia s. str. (Lecanorales, Ascomycota) in Russian Far East (Poster presentation). AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS • Synthesis of Systematic Resources (SYNTHESYS+; acronym: FI-TAF-TA4-001). Project: Explaining altitude adaptation of Toniniopsis separabilis and its apparent association with symbiotic cyanobacteria through the study of the historical collections. Research collaboration with Jouko Rikkinen (Research visit in Helsinki November 8-30, 2023). • BAYHOST mobility grant (MB-2017-1/35). Project on the reconstruction of the phylogenetic relationships in Bacidia s. str. from the Russian Far East, using five markers: nrITS, nrLSU, mtSSU, RPB1, and RPB2. • Yearly scholarship Ph.D. fellowship provided by the Free State of Bavaria (October 2018–March 2022). • LMU Travel Grant. Title: Research stay at the Institute of Biology at the University of Graz (April 22–May 21, 2021); joint work with Dr. Philipp Resl on genomic analyses.