Lena Dermelj finished her Master Thesis at the University of Fribourg (Department of Biology). Her research interests include the biogeography and conservation biology of the European white elm (Ulmus laevis, Ulmaceae). The species, known also as fluttering elm, is the rarest and most poorly studied of the three elm species that occur naturally in Europe. The main goal of the project is to investigate its population genetics and phylogeography, as well as its ecological niche and conservation status in Switzerland.