Awarded STSM Grants

applicantFirstName	applicantLastName	applicantPrimaryInstitution	applicantCountry	grantStartDate	grantEndDate	title	extraInfo
Hela	YOUNSI	Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie	Tunisia	31/03/2026	30/04/2026	PCR amplification and preparation of fungal and bacterial amplicons for metabarcoding analysis in durum wheat	Host: Alia DELLAGI, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB, France), FR
Yagmur	Atakav	Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology University	Türkiye	30/07/2026	30/09/2026	2nd Call for Short-Term Scientific Missions 2026	Host: Prof. Dr. Bahar Razavi, University of Kiel, DE
Alegria	Perez Guillen	Estación Experimental del Zaidín – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas	Spain	03/08/2026	30/09/2026	Hands-on training in fungal transformation techniques to functionally characterize genes involved in the onset of microbe-induced resistance	Host: Susanne Zeilinger-Migsich, University of Innsbruck, AT
LUIS	ESPAÑA LUQUE	CSIC – ESTACIÓN EXPERIMENTAL DEL ZAIDÍN	Spain	01/06/2026	31/08/2026	STSM: “Finding new signalling molecules in rhizosphere for plant-AMF communication.”	Host: Jenny Renaut, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), LU
Roberta	Faccilongo	University of Turin	Italy	30/08/2026	12/09/2026	Molecular assays for the characterization of small RNA – plant target gene interactions in the mycorrhizal symbiosis	Host: Ignacio Rubio-Somoza, CRAG (Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics), ES
Busra	ARIKAN-ABDULVELI	Selcuk Universitesi	Türkiye	15/06/2026	29/07/2026	Advanced in vitro functional screening of rhizosphere microbes	Host: Carmen Escudero Martinez, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Salamanca, ES
Damilola	Olanipon	CNRS	France	24/08/2026	11/09/2026	Assessing the effects of green algae, biochar and basalt on soil carbon sequestration and microbial communities in a wheat culture	Host: Prof. Vittoria Catara, University of Catania, IT
ibrahim	isik	Inonu University	Türkiye	15/06/2026	30/06/2026	Modelling and Experimental Analysis of Rhizobacterial Chemotaxis and Biofilm Formation in the Presence of Whey	Host: Olga Muter, University of Latvia, LV
Morgane	Philippe	Botanicky Ustav Av Cr, V.v.i.	Czechia	12/04/2026	10/05/2026	Identification of drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community assembly in European temperate grasslands: special focus on seasonality and identification of winter-active AMF taxa	Host: Inga Hiiesalu-Vahter, University of Tartu, EE
Álvaro	López García	Spanish National Research Council	Spain	27/06/2026	04/07/2026	Implementation of long-read rDNA sequencing for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi using the EEZ- CSIC AMF collection	Host: Martina Janoušková, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, CZ
Jelena	Lazarevic	University of Montenegro	Montenegro	15/07/2026	07/08/2026	Evaluation of mycorrhization of oak seedlings using metabarcoding approach	Host: Audrius Menkis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE
Julio	Ascaso	Universidad de Salamanca	Spain	04/05/2026	30/06/2026	Chemotropic responses in Trichoderma and Fusarium to strigolactones, flavonoids and drought- modified wheat root exudates.	Host: David Turrà, University of Naples Federico II, IT
Alina	Kerner	M. G. Kholodny Institute of Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine	Ukraine	01/06/2026	30/06/2026	Dynamics and functional shifts of root-associated fungal communities along pollution gradients in war-affected Ukrainian soils	Host: Kateryna Davydenko, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SE
Anna	Mlčochová	Institute of Botany – Czech Academy of Science	Czechia	09/03/2026	10/04/2026	Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization dynamics drive plant-parasitic nematode attraction and host defense	Host: Juan Antonio Lopez Raez, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, ES
Antonio Manuel	Gavira Alvarez	Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea “La Mayora” (UMA-CSIC)	Spain	09/03/2026	29/03/2026	Isolation and establishment of avocado root-associated fungal endophytes	Host: Rasmus Kjøller, University of Copenhagen, DK
Wietze	Metzelaar	Utrecht University	Netherlands	10/08/2026	21/08/2026	Measuring of microbiome-mediated sulfur nutrition in soybean soils	Host: Stanislav Kopriva, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, DE
Francesco	Berruto	University of Turin	Italy	09/09/2026	30/09/2026	Expanding methodological expertise in beneficial root-associated fungi: from in vitro cultivation to application	Host: Amaia Nogales, Institute of Research and Technology in Agro-Food (IRTA), ES
Antonia	Argyri	University of Thessaly	Greece	30/06/2026	30/09/2026	Deciphering dynamic DNA methylation landscapes in a beneficial fungal endophyte and its host plant during mutualistic interaction using long-read Nanopore sequencing	Host: Boas Pucker, IZMB, Institut für Zelluläre und Molekulare Botanik, Universität Bonn, DE
Alexandra	Pal	HUN-REN Biological Research Center	Hungary	06/07/2026	17/07/2026	Learning in vitro AM methodologies and root organ cultures	Host: Prof Luisa Lanfranco, University of Turin, IT
Gülce	Güralp	Sabancı University	Türkiye	02/08/2026	31/08/2026	Investigating the ability of outer membrane vesicles from nitrogen-fixing bacteria strains to induce plant immune responses in Nicotiana benthamiana	Host: Silke Robatzek, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, DE
Ines	HARZLI	Ondokuz Mayıs University	Türkiye	07/09/2025	30/09/2025	Investigating Mycorrhiza-Induced Resistance and Priming Mechanisms in Plant–Arthropod Interactions	Host: Víctor Flors, Investigating Mycorrhiza-Induced Resistance and Priming Mechanisms in Plant–Arthropod Interactions, ES
Wojciech	Smulek	Politechnika Poznanska	Poland	09/03/2025	22/03/2025	Effects of pyrethroids on plant growth-promoting rhizospheric bacteria	Host: Angela Cunha, University of Aveiro, PT
Eman Mostafa Mohamed Ibrahim	Abdalhady	Cairo University	Egypt	01/08/2025	30/09/2025	Validation of Transcriptome Sequencing by Digital PCR (dPCR)	Host: Agnieszka Kalwasińska, NCU professor, Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU), PL
Emma	Fuller	Teagasc – Agriculture And Food Development Authority	Ireland	07/09/2025	21/09/2025	Short-Term Scientific Mission	Host: Professor Julio Javier Díez Casero, Universidad de Valladolid, ES
MICOL	GUASCHINO	Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA)	Italy	18/08/2025	24/08/2025	Decoding plant-microbiome interactions: insights into genetic players involved in beneficial microorganisms’ recruitment in grapevine genotypes	Host: Davide Bulgarelli, University of Dundee, GB
Christos	Papadopoulos	University of Thessaly	Greece	01/04/2025	01/06/2025	Investigating the Impact of Glyphosate on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: Species-Specific Responses and Mechanisms of Tolerance	Host: Vasilis Kokkoris, Vrije Universiteit, Faculty of Science, NL
Izzah	Shahid	Universidad Publica De Navarra	Spain	10/08/2025	23/08/2025	Dynamics of Bacterial Biosynthetic Gene Clusters as Mediators of Inter-Kingdom Communication in the Rhizosphere	Host: Dr. Martin Baunach, University of Bonn, DE
Sara	Pérez González	Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Estación Experimental del Zaidin	Spain	01/05/2025	15/06/2025	Methodologies update for the effectiveness evaluation of common bean co-inoculation with a bacterial consortium and its plant growth-promoting properties.	Host: Juan Ignacio Vílchez, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier ITQB-NOVA, PT
Melike	Bakir	Erciyes Universitesi	Türkiye	02/08/2025	28/09/2025	Exploring the Resilience of Wild Chickpea Genotypes to Nitrate-Induced Suppression of Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation	Host: Estíbaliz Larrainzar, Public University of Navarra, ES
valerio	mattei	University of Milan, Dpt. Agricultural and Environmental Sciences	Italy	24/03/2025	11/04/2025	Investigating tripartite interactions: comparative metabolomic analysis of streptomyces strains DEF17 and IPV2733 in modulating plant defense and pathogen behavior	Host: jenny renaut, The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), LU
Raquel	Correa Delgado	Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias	Spain	15/08/2025	15/10/2025	Improvement of the functionality of the soil microbial communities in banana agroecosystem with organic amendments	Host: Natacha Bodenhausen, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), CH
Alina	Kerner	M. G. Kholodny Institute of Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine	Ukraine	01/08/2025	30/08/2025	Molecular Characterization of Root-Associated Fungi and Cultivable Mushroom Strains in War-Affected Ukrainian Soils	Host: Kateryna Davydenko, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SE
Fruzsina Eva	Felegyhazi	Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegyetem	Hungary	17/09/2025	30/09/2025	Discovery of subsoil biodiversity in forest soils to investigate efficiency of short-read versus long-read sequencing strategies for fungal microbiome	Host: Prof.Paul Thomas, Mycorrhyzal Systems Ltd., GB
Nejc	Suban	Slovenian Forestry Institute	Slovenia	03/08/2025	21/08/2025	Biodiversity and enzymatic activity of soil and root-associated microbiome in the oak dominated forests along Eastern Sierra Madre in Mexico during the transition from the period of extreme drought and increased rainfall	Host: Tijana Martinović, Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology at the Institute of Microbiology in Prague, CZ
Muhammad Tahir	Khan	Vytautas Magnus University	Lithuania	01/09/2025	30/09/2025	STSM grant for Research Stay at ATB-Potsdam: Learning of Techniques and Access to Research Resources for Assessing Rhizosphere Microbiome Shifts in Response to Rye Cultivar Composition	Host: Prof. Dr. rer. agr. habil. Annette Prochnow, The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, DE
Tatiana	Gil	Universidade Nova de Lisboa	Portugal	14/09/2024	15/10/2024	Standardization of methodologies for the analysis of root exudates and marker genes in tomato plants inoculated with beneficial microorganisms subjected to water stress.	Host: Dr. Rafael Jorge León Morcillo, The Institute for Mediterranean and Subtropical Horticulture “La Mayora” (IHSM), ES
Pablo	Vargas	Institut De Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentaries	Spain	23/09/2024	04/10/2024	Preparation and inoculation of barley (Hordeum vulgare) plants with synthetic microbial communities derived from the barley rhizosphere to increase their drought stress tolerance.	Host: Mika Tarkka, UFZ Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung, DE
Lama	Ramadan	Gebze Teknik Universitesi	Türkiye	10/09/2024	31/10/2024	The effect of soil chemical contamination on the beneficial root-associated microorganisms.	Host: Prof. Paolina Garbeva, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), NL
Germán Orlando	Gomez Fernandez	Universidad Publica De Navarra	Spain	01/08/2024	30/09/2024	Connecting nitrate sensing and the ethylene-mediated inhibition of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in Medicago truncatula using phos	Host: Dr. Stefanie Wienkoop, University of Vienna, AU
Beatriz	Ramirez Serrano	Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) – Estación Experimental del Zaidin	Spain	29/08/2024	14/10/2024	A multi -omics integrative approach to disentangle the mechanisms underlying mycorrhiza-induced resistance against Tuta absoluta	Host: Prof. Dr. Kristina Gruden, National Institute of Biology (BTH-NIB), SI
valerio	mattei	University of Milan, Dpt. Agricultural and Environmental Sciences	Italy	17/06/2024	29/07/2024	Metabolome of two Streptomyces Strains able to manipulate physiological responses of tomato plant to water stress.	Host: Dr Jenny Renaut, The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), LU
Irma	Milanese	University of Trento	Italy	01/05/2024	31/05/2024	Deciphering the molecular pathways involved in plant-bacteria interactions	Host: Aureliano Bombarely, IBMCP – Instituto de Biologia Molecular y Celular des Plantas, ES
Linda	Rigerte	Helmholtz Association – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ	Germany	04/08/2024	17/08/2024	Handling of the barley rhizosphere and improving the current protocol for high-quality RNA extractions	Host: Dr Davide Bulgarelli, University of Dundee, School of Life Sciences, GB
Stamatios	Thomopoulos	AARHUS UNIVERSITET	Denmark	29/09/2024	11/10/2024	AMF-BIOPRO	Host: Maarja Öpik, University of Tartu, EE
Naomi	Stuer	Ghent University	Belgium	10/06/2024	05/07/2024	Characterization of the plant immune repertoire distinguishing friend from foe during tomato AMF symbiosis	Host: Juan Antonio López-Ráez, CSIC University of Granada, ES
FABIO	CASTRONOVO	Universita Di Pisa	Italy	01/09/2024	28/09/2024	Functional and genetic characterization of beneficial microorganisms from animal manure and other animal residues on the soil-pl	Host: Elisabet Aranda Ballesteros, University of Granada, ES