Tommaso Jucker, PhD

Dr Tommaso Jucker is a NERC Independent Research Fellow and Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences, where he leads the Selva Lab. His research explores the processes that shape the structure, diversity and function of the world’s forests, with a view of predicting how these will respond to rapid environmental change and how this in turn will impact society. To tackle these questions, Dr Jucker and his team at Selva Lab use a range of approaches, including manipulative experiments, long-term field observations, and cutting-edge remote sensing and modelling. Dr Jucker's core projects include exploring how logging and forest degradation associated with oil palm expansion impact the resilience of Borneo’s tropical forests to drought, investigating how forest dynamics shape the 3D structure of the world’s forest canopies, and mapping the distribution of old-growth woodlands in Australia’s iconic Great Western Woodlands to guide their conservation and restoration. Dr Jucker has published over 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including ones in Science, Nature, PNAS, Ecology Letters and Global Change Biology. His research is currently funded by NERC, The Royal Society and The Leverhulme Trust.

Education
2009 - BSc Biological Sciences, University of Roma Tor Vergata, 
2010 - MSc Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, Imperial College, London, 
2015 - PhD Forest Ecology, University of Cambridge

Affiliations
2017 - present - Associate Editor for Journal of Ecology and Associate Editor for Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation, 
2018 - present - Review Editor for Frontiers in Forests and Global Change

Accomplishments
2015 - Harper Prize, highly commended for best paper by young author in Journal of Ecology, 
2016 - President’s Prize for best presentation at the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society’s annual conference, 
2017 - Australian Academy of Science Travel Award, 
2019 - NERC Independent Research Fellowship, 2020 - British Ecological Society Founders Prize (This award commemorates the enthusiasm and vision of the Society's founders and is awarded each year to an outstanding early-career ecologist who is starting to make a significant contribution to their field).