Iryna Matsiakh

March 2022 - present: Researcher at SLU;

May 2022: Analyst of SLU Forest Damage Center;

2018; 2021: A postdoc at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Alnarp, Sweden;

2012 - present: Docent at the Forestry Department, the Ukrainian National Forestry University (unpaid position);

Apr 2019 –Dec 2021: International expert (Forest Protection Division, National Forestry Agency of Georgia)

Associate Editor for the national journal "Forestry, Forest, Paper and Woodworking Industry" (NLTU, Ukraine);

SPECIAL COMMISSIONS: 

2025 - present: EIP-AGRI Focus Group (FG) “Forestry and forest health: new and emerging pests and diseases”

2021 – present: Member of SLU Plant Protection Network;

2018 – present: Member of European Mycological Network (EMN); 

2016 – present: Member of EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization) Panels: P QPF (Quarantine Pests for Forestry) and P MYCO (Panel on Diagnostics in Mycology).

My research interests lie primarily in forest pathology, particularly in plant protection in the prevention and control of tree diseases, and also a partial involvement with forest entomology. My research activities center on epidemiology, biological and ecological characteristics of tree pathogens, and their interactions with host trees. I am also especially intrigued by the study of invasive pests and diseases in forests and green areas, assisting in developing new diagnostic tools, in particular molecular techniques, for detecting and investigating forest tree diseases on site. During practical fieldwork and site visits, I prioritize the transfer of methodology and knowledge to students and forestry stakeholders alike, ensuring the sustainable development of forests for future generations.

Since Spring 2022 – SLU, Sweden: Course: Broadleaved Forest Dynamics, Biodiversity and Management for Multiple Use

Since Autumn–Winter 2022 – SLU, Sweden:  Distance courses: Diagnos, förebyggande och hantering av biotiska skogsskador; Urban Tree and Forest Health, Course Module 3: Forest Health

2020–2021 – UNFU, Ukraine: For Master’s students in Horticulture: Laboratory course Integrated Protection of Horticultural Plants

October 2017 – Estonia: Delivered eight lectures as part of the Erasmus+ (KA1) international academic mobility program at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu.

2008–2021 – UNFU, Ukraine: Course: Forest Pathology (Master’s level); Laboratory courses: Forest Entomology and Forest Phytopathology for Bachelor’s students in Forestry
Forest Protection (field training course); Forest Entomology for Bachelor’s students in Horticulture; Entomology for Bachelor’s students in Ecology Plant Protection

Since 2018: Integrated Protection of Garden and Park Trees for Master’s students in Garden and Park Management

2025, Docent, the Ukrainian National Forestry University (UNFU)

2022, Dr. habil. Forestry, Biological Science, the Ukrainian National Forestry University

2013, Ph.D. Forestry, the Ukrainian National Forestry University. Discipline/Scientific Field: forestry, forest plant pathology

1997-2002: Student, the Ukrainian National Forestry University (Degree: specialist in forestry and horticulture)

Currently, I am a co-supervisor of one PhD student at SLU. Previously, I have supervised one Master’s and one Bachelor’s student at SLU, 16 undergraduate students as the main or co-supervisor (7 Master’s and 10 Bachelor’s) at UNFU in Ukraine, and one internship student from Lublin University in Poland during a short-term research stay as the main supervisor.

Many European forestry universities and institutions, forestry enterprises in Ukraine and Georgia, national quarantine services in Ukraine, as well as international organizations such as CNF, UNDP, IUCN, EPPO, EMN, and COST programs.

Huo L., Matsiakh I., Bohlin J., Cleary M. 2025. Estimation of Tree Vitality Reduced by Pine Needle Disease Using Multispectra Drone Images. Remote Sens. 2025, 17, 271. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17020271

Dorado F.J., Matsiakh I., Camisуn A., Olaizola J., Romeralo C., Martin J.A., Witzell J., Solla A. 2025. Methyl jasmonate spray for the protection of broad‑leaf trees against oomycete and fungal pathogens. Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, 2025, 132:64 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41348-025-01061-w

Franić I., Allan E., Prospero S., Adamson K., …Matsiakh. I.,…. Eschen R. 2023. Climate, host and geography shape insect and fungal communities of trees. Scientifc Reports,13: 11570. 

Matsiakh, I., López-García, N., Kacprzyk, M., & Cleary, M. 2023. Susceptibility of silver birch and black alder to several Phytophthora species isolated from soils in declining broadleaf forests in western Ukraine. Forest Pathology, 00, e12817. 

Matsiakh, I.; Menkis, A. An Overview of Phytophthora Species on Woody Plants in Sweden and Other Nordic Countries. 2023. Microorganisms, 11, 1309. 

Jung T., Milenković I., Corcobado T., … Matsiakh I., Kramarets V., … Horta Jung M. 2022. Extensive morphological and behavioural diversity among fourteen new and seven described species in Phytophthora Clade 10 and its evolutionary implications. Persoonia 49: 1–57. 

Laas M., Adamson K., Barnes I., Cleary M.,… Matsiakh I.,…. Sadiković D., Drenkhan R. 2022. Diversity, migration routes, and worldwide population genetic structure of Lecanosticta acicola, the causal agent of brown spot needle blight. Molecular Plant Pathology :1–20.

Franic I., Prospero S., Adamson K., Allan E.,…. Matsiakh I., et al. 2022. Worldwide diversity of endophytic fungi and insects associated with dormant tree twigs. Scientific Data. Doi:10.1038/s41597-022-01162-3.

Matsiakh I., Kramarets V., Cleary M., 2021. Occurrence and diversity of Phytophthora species in declining broadleaf forests in western Ukraine, Forest Pathology, 51(1), e12662.

Agan A., Drenkhan R., Adamson K., Tedersoo L., Solheim H., Børja I., Matsiakh I., Timmermann V., Nagy N., Hietala A. 2020. The relationship between fungal diversity and invasibility of a foliar niche – the case of ash dieback. Journal of Fungi, 6(3): 150. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7558441/pdf/jof-06-00150.pdf.

Morales-Rodríguez C., Anslan S., Auger-Rozenberg M-A., Augustin S., …Matsiakh I.,…et al. 2019. Forewarned is forearmed: harmonized approaches for early detection of potentially invasive pests and pathogens in sentinel plantings. Neobiota, 47: 95-123. 

Mitchell R., Chitanava S., Dbar R., Kramarets V., Lehtijärvi A., Matchutadze I., Mamadashvili G., Matsiakh I., Nacambo S., Papazova-Anakieva I., Sathyapala S., Tuniyev B., Vétek G., Zukhbaia M., Kenis M. 2018. Identifying the ecological and societal consequences of a decline in Buxus spp. in Europe and the Caucasus. Biological Invasions, 20 (12): 3605-3620. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1799-8.

Matsiakh I., Doğmuş-Lehtijärvi Tuğba H., Kramarets V., Aday Kaya A.G., Oskay F., Drenkhan R., Woodward S. 2018. Dothistroma spp. in Western Ukraine and Georgia - Short Communication. Forest Pathology. 2018; e12409. https://doi.org/10.1111/efp.12409.

4th EPPO Workshop for Heads of Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratories, France, Maisons-Alfort, 9 – 11 September 2019

Practical workshop “Rapid Diagnostic Tools for Phytophthora Workshop” in Catania (Italy) granted by Stiftelsen Fonden för skogsvetenskaplig forskning, Sicily, Italy. 17 – 18 May 2018

EU COST Training School 2018: Molecular identification of insects (COST Action FP1401 GLOBAL WARNING), INRA, Orléans, France. 15 – 16 March 2018

EU COST Training School 2016: Fungal taxonomy and fungal identification using traditional (i.e. not molecular) techniques (COST Action FP1401 GLOBAL WARNING), Forest Research Institute, Sękocin Stary, Poland. 22 – 24 November 2016

EU COST Training School 2016: Coppice Management, Biodiversity and Services (COST Action FP1301 Innovative management and multifunctional utilization of traditional coppice forests - an answer to future ecological, economic and social challenges in the European forestry sector EuroCoppice), Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Forestry District Boppard in Rhineland-Palatinate, Boppard, Germany. 17 – 23 July 2016

Training School: Choroby roślin powodowane przez organizmy grzybopodobne z królestwa Chromista, klasy Oomycetes – diagnostyka morfologiczna (Plant diseases caused by organisms of the Chromista kingdom, Oomycetes - morphological identification (diagnosis). Central Laboratory of the General Inspectorate for Plant Protection and Seed, Torun, Poland. 13 – 14 June 2016.

EU COST Training School 2015: Concepts of biological invasion, EU plant health regulation, and risk analysis (FP1401 - A global network of nurseries as early warning system against alien tree pests (Global Warning), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. 13 – 15 July 2015.

EU COST Training School 2014: Identification and Molecular Detection of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in Forest Ecosystems (FPS COST Action FP1002 PERMIT), Forest Research Institute, Sękocin Stary, Poland. 8 – 10 July 2014.

EU COST Training School 2014: Molecular Detection and Population Genetics of Dothistroma Needle Blight Pathogens (COST Action FP1102), Uppsala, Sweden. 3 – 7 March 2014.

EU COST Training School 2013: Field and laboratory methods for detection of invasive pests and pathogens (FPS COST Action FP1002 PERMIT) Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. 1 – 5 July 2013.

EU COST Training School 2011: Detection and Diagnosis of Phytophthora in Forest Ecosystems (COST Action FP0801), Sękocin Stary, Poland. 28 June – 1 July 2011.

Fellowship at the Forest Research Institute, Sękocin Stary, Poland. Title: “Influence of climatic conditions on the development of invasive alien species of Phytophthora in the areas of conservation status NATURA 2000”. 1 August – 1 November 2010.

2013 - Regional Award for young scientists and specialists for significant achievements in science that will further the development of socio-economic changes in the Lviv Region, Ukraine