Dr Asiegbu has been the professor of forest pathology at the University of Helsinki since 2007. He has a master’s degree in applied microbiology and plant pathology, and a PhD in biotechnology. His major research focus has been the application of biotechnology knowledge and tools for the determination of ecological, molecular and biochemical pathways required by emerging fungal and forest pathogens to spread, infect and cause disease to trees worldwide. He has been a member of the faculty interdisciplinary Master's Programme in Biotechnology and is also an invited professor at Nanjing Forestry University in China. Dr Kovalchuk is a researcher at the University of Helsinki. He has a PhD in molecular biology and has over 30 peer-reviewed journal publications on forest microbiomes.