Keynote Speakers

Dr. K.V. Sankaran

Dr. Sankaran is an invasive species specialist. He served the Kerala Forest Research Institute as a scientist for 25 years and later as Director until 2012. Post retirement he worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN as a TCDC Expert on invasive alien species until 2021 and served in India, Nepal, Myanmar and Maldives. Dr. Sankaran successfully completed 27 research programs on various aspects of forestry and led 8
internationally collaborative research programs with CSIRO, Australia, CABI, UK, FAO and CIFOR. He was the first Coordinator of the Asia-Pacific
Forest Invasive Species Network (APFISN), a cooperative alliance of 33 member countries of the Asia -Pacific Forestry Commission, which has the
objective of mitigating threats of invasive alien species in the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Sankaran has also served as one of the Coordinating Lead Authors of the thematic assessment of invasive alien species by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). He has published over 120 research papers and authored/edited several books.

Dr. Nami Uechi

Nami Uechi is a Principal Scientist at the Institute for Plant Protection within the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, holding PhD degrees from Kyushu University, Japan. Her primary focus is on applied entomology, specifically the development of pest control technologies for fruit trees. Her work addresses challenges posed by fruit tree pests, including invasive longhorn beetles and stink bugs. Additionally, she is involved in creating pest behavior control technologies through the use of mechanical vibrations. She also has a keen interest in invasive pests, as evidenced by her research on gall midges that cause plant galls, and on the citrus psyllid, a vector for the pathogen causing citrus greening disease.

Prof. Manuela Branco

Manuela Branco is a Professor of Forest Entomology at the School of Agriculture (ISA), University of Lisbon, Portugal. Her research focuses on economically significant insect pests affecting forest plantations, particularly those in Mediterranean regions. She has extensively studied the ecological aspects of a shifted population of the pine processionary moth. In forest pest management, her primary interest lies in sustainable strategies, with a strong emphasis on biological control. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with various stakeholders and research colleagues.

Prof. Juan C. Corley

Juan C. Corley is a research scientist working for CONICET (National Research Council of Argentina) and Associate Professor at the Department of Ecology in the National University of Comahue (Argentina). He is interested in the ecology and behaviour of forest insects and their natural enemies, investigating the relationship between ecological concepts with the sustainable management of pest species, especially invasive ones. He has published more than 120 articles in peer-reviewed journals and several other works, focused mostly on the ecology and management of the woodwasp Sirex noctlio and on the invasion ecology of several pine bark beetle species.