Dr Irene Barnes is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Genetics and the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria. She is one of the research leaders in the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP), the Centre of excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) and a member of the Genomics Research Institute (GRI). Dr Barnes serves on the executive committee of the South African Genetic Society (SAGS) and the International Mycological Association (IMA). 

Dr Barnes has expertise in the areas of taxonomy, phylogenetics and population genetics of plant pathogens. More specifically, her research is focused on characterising and describing the biodiversity, host ranges and geographic distributions of fungal pathogens that cause devastating diseases on native and non-native forest tree species, including eucalyptus and pine. She is especially involved in developing novel molecular diagnostic tools that can be used to accurately and effectively identify species and delineate cryptic species within fungal complexes, and generating markers that can be used to study the population genetics of these important pathogens. These markers have been used to gain insights into the routes of invasion and pathways of movement that have led to the intercontinental spread of some of the world’s most serious forest pathogens. 

Dr Barnes has published 68 papers in ISI rated journals and has supervised/co-supervised 12 MSc and PhD students. Most recently, Dr Barnes and has received the Exceptional Young Achievers Award from the University of Pretoria, the Ethel Mary Doidge Medal for best young mycologist in Africa by the International Mycological Association and was named 1st runner up of the South African Woman in Science award for Distinguished Young Scientists. 

Prof. Louis Bernier joined the Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics at Université Laval in 1990 where he has been teaching forest pathology, mycology, and fungal genetics. He is co-director of the multi-university Centre for Forest Research (CFR), the largest forest ecology research group in Canada. He is also a member of the interdisciplinary Institute of Integrative Biology and System (IBIS) at U. Laval. Like many other fellow forest pathologists, Louis has investigated a variety of tree-associated fungi but his favorite ones are the Dutch elm disease (DED) pathogens which he began studying during his Master’s. Over the years, Louis’ research group at U. Laval has contributed to expanding our knowledge of the structural, functional and population genomics of the DED fungi and other Ophiostomatoid species. 

Louis has published 85 ISI journal papers and has supervised or co-supervised 47 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. He is an Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, and a Review Editor for Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. He received the  Gordon J. Green Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the Canadian Phytopathological Society, and the René-Pomerleau Award from the Quebec Society for the Protection of Plants. 

Paolo Capretti since 2000 is full professor of Forest Pathology at the University of Florence. His main interests cover fungal epidemiology, insect-fungus relationships, biological control, genetic of fungal forest pathogens, molecular quantitative diagnostic methods for forest tree pathogens. The main research topics are on fungal pathogens particularly harmful to forest trees, foliar and canker diseases, root and but rot

It has been responsible and participant on national and EU projects, forest disease monitoring, urban and shadow tree diseases. Active in monitoring projects at national and regional scales. Author or co-author of about 250 publications both on International and National journals.

During the last 10 years he spent a consistent part of is time to coordination of education activities of forest courses.  He has been leading of doctoral courses I "Agricultural Microbial Biotechnology", master and bachelor courses in Forestry. It has been supervisor of graduate and PHD students and post-doctoral research assistants. Member of the IUFRO WPs 7.02.01 - Root and stem rots; 7.02.02 "Shoot, foliage and stem diseases" .

My research deals with epidemiology of forest diseases, with an ecological and evolutionary perspective. My aim is to add new knowledge to the understanding of interactions between hosts (trees), parasites (pathogenic fungi) and the environment  (climate, other fungi), especially in a context of global changes (biological invasions, emergence of diseases). My research addresses both fundamental questions of disease ecology and forest management issues. It is principally based on experimental work and field monitoring. I have developped pluri-disciplinary approaches in collaboration with geneticists, ecophysiologists, ecologists, modellers, and I have been working with various biological models: pine twisting rust, oak Phytophthoras, oak powdery mildew, Diplodia shoot blight, etc....

My current research mainly focuses on the oak-powdery mildew pathosystem, addressing questions such as :

- cryptic species involved in the disease complex (Erysiphe alphitoides, E. quercicola, E hypophylla): epidemiological perspective (factors of distribution, relationship with the severity of disease); ecological perspective (niche differentiation; interactions between species; cf ANR FUNFIT project); evolutionary perspective (phylogeny; history of invasion and co-evolution with oaks: cf UE-ANR Biodiversa RESIPATH project)

- co-adaptation between host and pathogen : host-pathogen phenological synchrony, host tolerance, genetic basis of host resistance, selective effects of oak powdery mildew on oak populations

- hyperparasitism of oak powdery mildew by Ampelomyces sp and related species.

Jonàs Oliva works as researcher at the University of Lleida, NE Spain. His current work focuses on understanding the factors facilitating invasion and disease emergence in Mediterranean conditions. His research currently focuses on Phytophthora and Diplodia shoot blight. Another two lines of research in his group are the role of pathogens in ecological processes such as plant-soil feedback or drought-induced mortality. Before his position in Lleida, he worked as Associate Professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala Sweden, mainly on developing methods for detection of invasive pathogens based on high-throughput systems. His main contributions where in developing Phytophthora work in Sweden, and in the use of functional traits to predict establishment for invaders. Before focussing on invasive pathogens he did his postdoc with Jan Stenlid at SLU, working on modelling of root rot caused by Heterobasidion annosum on Norway spruce. His PhD was about silver fir decline in Pyrenees where he described the role of Heterobasidion and Armillaria and its relation with historical management in that area.

Prof. Mike Wingfield was the founder Director of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI).  He stepped down from this position after 20 years in 2007 and now serves as an advisor to the Executive of the University of Pretoria.  He is also serving a five-year term as President of the International Union of Forestry Research Organisations (IUFRO), based in Austria and representing more than 15 000 forest scientists globally.  He is internationally recognized for his research on insect pests and diseases of forest trees.  In this regard, he has projects with students studying tree health issues in many parts of the world including those affecting both commercial forestry operations and natural forest ecosystems.  He is particularly concerned with the pathways of movement of tree pests and in seeking opportunities to reduce their negative impacts.  Mike has published extensively in this field in more than 1000 ISI Journal papers and has advised or co-advised more than 100 Ph.D. students. He has received many awards and tokens of recognition, the most recent of which are the Kwame Nkuruma Award from the African Union, honorary doctorates from North Carolina State University and the University of British Columbia, the China Friendship Award.