Urban Nature Conversations by UBHub (Europe)
Urban Nature Conversations is the official podcast of the Urban Biodiversity Hub (UBHub) Europe. In each episode, we speak with leading researchers, practitioners, or policymakers from across Europe about the ideas, evidence, and real-world solutions shaping urban nature. From cutting-edge science to inspiring case studies, the podcast bridges research and practice, making knowledge on urban biodiversity accessible to professionals, decision-makers, and anyone interested in creating greener, more resilient cities.
Team
Joeri Mopurgo - Postdoc, Urban ecology, Leiden University and HAS Green Academy (the Netherlands)
Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) at Leiden University, HAS Green Academy, guest research at Naturalis and the Regional Lead for Europe within UBHUB. His research focuses on urban ecology, biodiversity, and the role of green infrastructure in creating healthier, more climate-resilient cities. Combining expertise in GIS, multivariate analysis, and field ecology, his work investigates how urban green spaces, from tiny façade gardens to extensive parks, support biodiversity, climate adaptation and enhance human well-being.
Jing Lu - Postdoc, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)
Jing Lu is a postdoctoral researcher at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain. Her work focuses on biodiversity-inclusive urban planning and design, more-than-human urbanism, and knowledge exchange between research and practice. Grounded in environmental engineering, urban planning, natural environment management, and planning practice, she explores how urban biodiversity can be better integrated into planning policy, design, and participatory processes. Her current research connects urban biodiversity, planning, and governance through qualitative, participatory, spatial, and computational approaches.
Elodie Eiffener
Following her studies in Public Health and a PhD in clinical cardiology research, Elodie is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Her research lies at the intersection of the environment, urbanisation, and health - focusing on the link between urban environmental hazards and selected health and wellbeing outcomes, in both children and adults. In addition, she is a strong advocate for the One Health approach and inter- and transdisciplinary work.
Agustina Santullo - PhD, Applied microbiology, University of Antwerp (Belgium)
With a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology (University of Barcelona) and a Master's degree in Global Change Biology (University of Antwerp), she is currently a PhD researcher within the LAMB and SUSTAIN research groups at the University of Antwerp.
From a One Health perspective, her PhD investigates how urban green spaces can promote immune health through exposure to diverse, nature-associated microbiomes. As co-lead of the citizen science project BUGS (Benefits of Urban Green Spaces), she studies microbial transfer between parks and people to support evidence-based, health-promoting urban design.
Her broader research interests include environmental justice, equitable access to nature and its health benefits, and citizen science as a tool for research and public engagement.