Dr. César Marín

Current positions: Since 2022, I have been a Full Professor at the Center for Research and Innovation for Climate Change (CiiCC), School of Sciences, Santo Tomas University, Chile. I teach at the PhD in Conservation and Biodiversity Management.
My lab is located at the Centro de Innovación Colaborativa, Ruta T-25 Km 1, Mafil (Los Ríos), Chile.
Since 2022, I am a Guest researcher at the Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, section Ecology & Evolution, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Past positions: I did a Postdoc at the Department of Mycorrhizal Symbioses, Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences (2021). I was affiliated as a Researcher at the Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability- CAPES, Chile (2018-2021), and did another Postdoc at the University of O’Higgins (Chile) & the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (2018-2020). I was an ad honorem Professor of “Soil, Ecosystems, and Global Change” at the Open University of Recoleta (Chile, 2019).

Education: I am an Environmental Biologist (2013) from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Colombia, a Doctor in Sciences mention Ecology and Evolution (2018) from the Austral University of Chile, and I have a Diplomat in Philosophy of Biology at the Institute of Philosophy and Complexity Sciences (Chile, 2020).

Stays & Teaching: I have done nine research stays at the Institute of Soil Science at the University of Hannover, Germany, at the Plant Ecology Laboratory of the University of Tartu, Estonia, at the Biodiversity Division, Lund University, Sweden, at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Oviedo, Spain, and at the School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, United States. I have taught or assisted in teaching several courses in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Panama, Spain, and Peru.

Society work:
– Founder & coordinator of the South American Mycorrhizal Research Network.
– Vice-Chair of UN FAO’s International Network on Soil Biodiversity (NETSOB).
– Deputy-Chair of UN FAO’s Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) (2025-2028).
– Director, Board of Directors of the International Mycorrhiza Society.
– Network laboratory of the Soil Biodiversity Observation Network (SoilBON).
– Science Associate of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN).
– Member of the Evaluation Group Biology 1, Fondecyt Projects, National Research and Development Agency (ANID), Chile.
–> I belong to the Alerce Costero Corporation (Board of Directors).
–> Scientific Adviser of FungiFest.

Editorial work:
– Editor-in-Chief, International Mycorrhiza Society Newsletter.
– Associate Editor on: npj Soil Ecology, Frontiers in Microbiology and Frontiers in Plant Science.
– Editorial Board: Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, Fungal Ecology, IMA Fungus, and Plants, People, Planet.

Awards:
– In 2019, I was awarded as Afrocolombian of the Year, category Academy, by El Espectador newspaper and Color de Colombia Foundation. Here is my acceptance speech.
– In 2021, I received the Dr. Humberto Maturana Youth Symposium award from the Chilean Biology Society.
– In 2022, I received the “We are Mycelium 2022” award from FungiFest – Valdivia Mushroom Festival.
– In 2024, I received the “Carlos Luis Spegazzini Medal” from the International Mycological Association (IMA), Latin America’s most prestigious mycology award.
– In 2025, I was inducted into the Frontier Science Program (2025-2027), Chilean Academy of Sciences, where I am also part of the Directive.
– In 2025, I received the Commitment to Internationalization award 2024 from Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile.
– In 2025, my Johnson & Marín (2025). ISME J article was voted as Top 1 Mycorrhizal Research Paper in the IMS Newsletter No. 17.

Research: My primary research interest is (i) Soil Ecology, studying: Fungal Biodiversity; Fungal Biodiversity in Chile; Mycorrhizal Applications; Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning; Soil Fire Ecology; Soil Chemistry; Root Ecology; South American Mycorrhizas. My second research interest is (ii) Multilevel selection in all sorts of systems, albeit I focus in plant holobiont-symbiont systems. To a lesser extent, I also investigate a (iv) myriad of issues related to: Crops vs. Weeds Dynamics; Agricultural Economy; Complexity Science; Philosophy of Biology; Plant Propagation; Science History; Science Sociology. Check here for a seminar on some parts of my mycorrhizal research.

Check here for the full description of my research, my Publications list, my Editorial/Reviewer work, and my Teaching record. Finally, here check my Outreach activities and publications.

Download my CV in English and my CV in Spanish.