Vision and Integration Committee of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences
Welcome to the homepage of the Vision and Integration Committee of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences.
We are a group of researchers with a vision to promote and support a diverse and inclusive environment at the Institute. Specifically, we aim to:
- facilitate inter-departmental cooperation in research and teaching activities;
- encourage communication between graduate students, PhD students and researchers;
- support the integration of international researchers and PhD students;
- organize the annual conference of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences;
- promote environmentally friendly behaviour and actions.
Feel free to contact us with any enquiries or questions you have about our activities or upcoming events. You can find the contact details of all committee members below.
Who are we?
Polina Degtjarenko
Chair of the Committee
Research Fellow in Lichenology
Department of Botany
Polina completed her PhD studies at the University of Tartu in 2016. Then she has been working as Postdoc in Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (ETH domain). Polina studies lichens, enigmatic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a fungus with microalgae and/or cyanobacteria. Her main research interests are population genetics, bioindication, lichen conservation, functional ecology of lichens, and biodiversity of lichens in general.
J. Liivi 2 (Oecologicum)
Email: polina.degtjarenko@ut.ee
UT Lichen Team: https://eseis.ut.ee/
Folia Cryptogamica Estonica: https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/FCE
ETIS: https://bit.ly/3pmw1VD
Kadi Kalm
Research Fellow in Human Geography
Department of Geography
Kadi is a researcher in human geography at the University of Tartu. She defended her PhD thesis in 2018 and her PhD research focused on ethnic residential segregation and integration of the Russian-speaking population in Estonia. She has previously worked as a visiting researcher at Delft University of Technology, and she did her post-doc at Charles University (Prague) in URRlab research team. Currently, her main research focuses on spatial inequalities, domains of inter-ethnic contacts, and residential mobility and migration. Much of her work examines the mobility of immigrant population and changes in residential segregation in urban regions.
Vanemuise 46
Email: kadi.kalm@ut.ee
Kaarel Lumiste
Research Fellow in Geology
Department of Geology
Kaarel earned his PhD from the University of Tartu in 2021. He has since been working as a Research Fellow at the Department of Geology, where he specialises in the geochemistry of sedimentary environments. Kaarel's research interests are focused on the behaviour of rare earth elements in marine sediments, low-temperature alteration of rocks, and the processes that lead to the formation of phosphorites
Ravila 14a (Chemicum)
Email: kaarel.lumiste@ut.ee
Jeffrey Malherbe Carbillet
Research Fellow in Animal Ecology
Department of Zoology
My main research goal is to understand the mechanisms that are using wild populations to adapt to a challenging and changing world. To this end, I use a multi-disciplinary approach based on ecophysiology and behavioural ecology. During my PhD and postdoc, I studied roe deer and seabirds, focusing on the effects of proximity with humans and marine pollution on glucocorticoid hormones, that act as environmental messengers, fluctuating according to external stimuli. Within my new project, I will assess the consequences of marine pollution and breeding habitat modifications on health, life-history traits, and the plasticity of pace-of-life strategies in seabirds.
J. Liivi 2 (Oecologicum)
Email: jeffrey.malherbe.carbillet@ut.ee
Twitter/X: @J_Carbillet
Lab web page: https://zooloogia.ut.ee/en/researchers-animal-ecology
Mohit Masta
Research Fellow in Soil Biogeochemistry
Department of Geography
I gained my MSc in Sustainable Chemical Engineering from Newcastle University, UK. Then I got my PhD in Environmental Technology from University of Tartu.
My current work areas are soil biogeochemistry in peatlands, specifically working on N2O production and consumption processes using isotope and microbial analysis in boreal and tropical peatlands.
Vanemuise 46
Email: mohit.masta@ut.ee
Peeter Paaver
Research Fellow in Geology
Department of Geology
Ravila 14a (Chemicum)
Email: peeter.paaver@ut.ee
Kärt Paiste
Research Fellow in Geology
Department of Geology
In between completing her undergraduate studies and her current position as a Research Fellow at the University of Tartu, Kärt obtained a geochemistry PhD in 2018 from the University of Tromsø, Norway, and received post-doctoral training under the MSCA global fellowship from Washington University in St Louis, MO, USA (2020 – 2022). She is part of an international research team investigating Earth’s early history, where her focus lies in disentangling chemical signatures of biogenic and abiogenic origin in ancient sedimentary rocks and how such signatures were generated in the first place, transferred into the rock record, and modified over geologic time.
Ravila 14a (Chemicum)
Email: kart.paiste@ut.ee
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0997-8860
Blog: https://rockarchive.org
Moonika Teppo
Project Manager of Science Education
Centre for Science Education
Having defended her doctoral thesis in 2023 at the University of Tartu focusing on investigating lower secondary school students’ intrinsic motivation in science learning, Moonika currently works as a project manager at the University of Tartu based on her long-term research experience in the field of education. She has been participating in different projects (local and EU level), primarily as an expert in management, quantitative data analysis and reporting. Moonika’s research interest focus on students’ motivation and interest in science learning.
Vanemuise 46
Email: moonika.teppo@ut.ee
Enrico Tordoni
Research Fellow in Macroecology
Department of Botany
My current research within the Macroecology workgroup focuses on studying the consequences of global change on the evolutionary and functional aspects of vertebrates and vascular plants and their relations with extinction risk. Specifically, I am studying how to integrate in a comprehensive metric different facets of biodiversity (taxonomic, functional and evolutionary information), and developing new statistical tools for application in macroecology and biodiversity conservation. During my PhD thesis, I studied how the introduction of non-native species modified taxonomic and functional diversity patterns of plant communities across different spatial scales.
J. Liivi 2 (Oecologicum)
Email: enrico.tordoni@ut.ee
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9722-6692
UT Lab/working group: https://macroecology.ut.ee/en/
Siim-Kaarel Sepp
Research Fellow in Plant Ecology
Department of Botany
After defending his thesis on plant-mycorrhizal interactions in 2020, Siim-Kaarel has been working in the Plant Ecology Lab in the Department of Botany on “all things soil microbiota”. His research currently spans from global macroecology to the effects of agricultural practices on soil microorganisms, with a particular interest in exploring different avenues to approach the questions from the data analysis side.
J. Liivi 2 (Oecologicum)
Email: siim-kaarel.sepp@ut.ee
ORCID: 0000-0003-2906-4609
UT Lab/working group: plantecology.ut.ee
Maarja Vaikre
Research Fellow in Wetland Ecology
Department of Zoology
Maarja defended her doctoral thesis in 2020 at the University of Tartu and has since been working as a Research Fellow at the department of Zoology specializing on the ecology and conservation of wetlands, specifically small and/or temporary waterbodies. Her main research interests are landscape scale processes influencing wetland communities, the impact of anthropogenic stressors related to forestry and agriculture, and the effectiveness of mitigation measures.
J. Liivi 2 (Oecologicum)
Email: maarja.vaikre@ut.ee
