Portrait of a woman with auburn hair outdoors.
Malin Elfstrand. Photo: Cajsa Lithell

Malin Elfstrand, professor of forest pathology

Page reviewed:  16/06/2025

Malin Elfstrand is a professor of forest pathology since 1 May 2023. Her inauguration lecture has the title "Att inte se skogen för bara träd, är det vad en skogspatolog ska hålla på med?".

Malin Elfstrand researches interactions between trees and fungi, both those that cause disease and those that do not. She is particularly interested in the genetic background to the fact that certain tree individuals are severely affected by attacks by fungal diseases such as root rot or ash dieback disease, while other trees of the same species are barely affected at all. In the long term, she wants to be able to use such knowledge to develop a tool-kit that tree breeders can use to select trees with better disease resistance.

Two women examine young spruce seedlings in a greenhouse.
Malin Elfstrand and Matilda Stein Åslund, in the greenhouse of SLU Uppsala Biocenter, with spruce plants that have been cultivated through somatic embryogenesis. Photo: Jenny Svennås-Gillner

 

Presentation video

Get to know professor Malin Elfstrand and her work! Please note that English and Swedish subtitles are available.

 

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