PhD, she/her
I'm Lisa, currently a research assistant at the University of Vienna, in the Division of BioInvasions, Global Change, and Macroecology.
I got a joint PhD in Evolutionary and Environmental Biology from Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Vienna. My work lies at the interface of invasion science and conservation biology. I am interested in large-scale biodiversity patterns, drivers of biodiversity loss (especially invasive species and human-induced climate change), and protected areas. My primary research taxon is mammals, but I am interested in all tetrapods.
I will start soon to work in the OneSTOP (OneBiosecurity Systems and Technology for People, Places and Pathways) EU Horizon project #101180559. The overarching objective of the project is to pioneer an innovative and joined-up approach to biosecurity for terrestrial invasive alien species, strengthening the interconnections between animal, plant, human and environmental health.
If you're interested in collaborating with me, please get in touch! I am interested in the following topics.
Conferences can be great opportunities, especially for early career researchers (ECRs), to present their research, get to know peers in the field, establish connections and collaborations, and share ideas. I have always enjoyed conferences, and I had the opportunity to organize a few of them. Being an ECR myself, I have tried my best to create an environment that is stimulating, safe, and enjoyable for all the participants.
I was the Chair of the local organizing committee for the 1st conference for ECRs in conservation biology in Italy (2023), organized by the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) Italy Chapter. We had more than 100 participants, and organizing a conference from scratch was a real challenge (but also a lot of fun).
After this great success, we decided to host a 2nd edition of the conference (May 2025), where I am now part of the local organizing committee.
In collaboration with the University of Bologna, we had the opportunity to organize the 7th European Congress of Conservation Biology, of which I was a vice-president. Managing more than 1000 participants and 50 volunteers during the hot and humid Italian summer was definitely a challenge, but I am pretty sure we made ECCB2024 memorable.
I was one of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) referees for ECCB2024, trying my best to make the conference a safe and respectful space for everyone.
I think science shouldn’t always just be aimed at writing a paper out of years of hard work. Since every human being is already (or will soon be) involved in the biodiversity crisis, we should all be informed about what is causing this crisis, and what we can do about that. This is why I try to communicate the results of my work beyond the academic sphere.
Being a young researcher in Austria, I was interviewed from the newspaper Die Presse [in German].
My PhD research has been reported by national and international newspapers several times. Below you can find a selection of some articles.
With SCB Italy Chapter, we launched a podcast on conservation biology, specifically tailored to ECRs. You can listen to it here [in Italian].
This part is very important to me, so I will take a bit of time to write this down.
The following studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals. However, I am omitting the name of the journals - you can simply read the paper if you want to know more about that research.
If you cannot access a paper for some reason, please refrain from using a tool like sci-hub or getting in touch with me, because I would never encourage you to not fuel the fabulous publishing industry which does not at all exploit our time and resources.
Lisa Tedeschi, PhD, she/her
lisa.tedeschi[at]univie.ac.at
Division of BioInvasions, Global Change, and Macroecology, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna.
Global Mammal Assessment, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome.
Also, please note that all the pictures on this website, if not stated otherwise, have been taken by me.