Astra Zaļuma
Astra Zaļuma is our Latvian Station Manager. She is currently on maternity leave but is expected to return to the office in December 2025. Our Project Coordinator, Ernestine Ruja, has stepped in to act as temporary Station Manager in her absence.
In July 2024, she was awarded the 2023 Best PhD Thesis Award by Forests MPDI. This award highlights Astra’s dedication to her research and her significant impact on the field. Her award-winning thesis, titled “Susceptibility of Native and Introduced Conifers to Heterobasidion spp. in Latvia and Control Measures to Limit Spread of the Pathogens,” offers valuable insights into the challenges faced by forestry in Latvia and the strategies to combat these issues.
You can access Astra’s full thesis by visiting this link and searching for the English title under the ‘Publications’ section.
See the rest of Team Agrolab here.