Current employment
Oct 2025 – present Marie Curie Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden
Previous employments
July 2022 – June 2025: Postdoctoral Researcher, Section for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, the GLOBE institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
March 2022 – June 2022: Research assistant at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Denmark and the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal
-July 2021 – January 2022: Research assistant at Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- July 2018 – June 2021: PhD student in avian microbiomes at Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- December 2015 – June 2016: Wildlife Educator and Animal Care at Ohio Wildlife Center (Education), OH, USA
Publication and research summary
I have 40 peer-reviewed publications, in high-profile journals such as Molecular Ecology, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, Nature Communications, Trends in Microbiology, Frontiers in Microbiology, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Communications Biology and Communications Chemistry. Seven of these were part of my PhD thesis and I first authored 17, while I am the last author in two. I have also contributed to one editorial.
Service as a peer-reviewer (WoS researcher ID: AAC-8777-2019)
I have reviewed 41 manuscripts (including first and second revisions) for the journals Molecular Ecology, ISME journal, ISME Communications, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, PeerJ, Genomics, Microbial Ecology, mSphere, Royal Society Open Science, Biological Reviews, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology part D: Genomics and Proteomics, Emu, Journal of Avian Biology, BMC Ecology and Evolution, Frontiers in Microbiology, Microbiology spectrum and BMC Animal Microbiome.
Received research grants
2026: Research grant, The Crafoord foundation: Gut bacterial mediation of immune genes against avian malaria infections (€ 9,240) - Principal Investigator
2025: Younger researcher grant, The Nilsson-Ehle Endowment, The Royal Physiographic Society of Lund: Crosstalk between gut microbes and adaptive immune system against malaria parasites (€ 20,913.00) - Principal Investigator
2024: Research project grant, Swedish Research Council: Origin, adaptive significance and underlying mechanisms of toxicity in birds and frogs (€ 359,800.00) - Co applicant
2024: Marie Curie (MSCA) postdoctoral fellowship, European Research Council: BornThisWay: How vertically transmitted gut microbes and immune genes synergistically direct anti-malarial defence in birds (€ 250,000.00) - Principal Investigator (supervisor Helena Westerdahl)
2023: Villum Experiment grant, Villum Foundation: Most Optimal Sampling Source for terrestrial biodiversity monitoring (MOSS) (€ 268,000.00) - Principal Investigator
2023: COST action: Wildlife Malaria Network (WIMANET: CA22108), European Cooperation in Science and Technology (€ 623,805.00) - Co-applicant and Workgroup leader
2017: British Ecological Society Mini-Research Grant (€ 3,722.00) - Principal Investigator
2014: Libby Yunger Research Mini Grant, Earlham College, Richmond, IN, USA ($ 1,286.00) - Principal Investigator
Honours and Awards
- 2022: PhD award of the year – recognition of excellence during the PhD by the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2015: Departmental and College Honours – Earlham College, Indiana, USA
- 2015: Phi Beta Kappa – recognition of academic achievements by the USA Phi Beta Kappa honour society.
- 2014: Millard S. Markle Award in Biology, Earlham College, Indiana, USA
Teaching and supervision merits
Pedagogical training
Sept 2019: Introduction to University Pedagogy – PhD and postdoctoral-level, University of Copenhagen
Nov 2022: Supervision of MSc and BSc student, University of Copenhagen
Nov 2024: Responsible Research Conduct for postdoctoral and associated professors, University of Copenhagen
Teaching experience
2026 March: PhD course on “Environmental eDNA” (4 lectures, University of Copenhagen)
2018-present: Evolutionary Ecology (7.5 ECTS MSc course – 2 lectures, University of Copenhagen)
2023-2025: Invasion Biology (7.5 ECTS MSc course – 2 lectures, University of Copenhagen)
2024-present: Social Behaviour and Communication (7.5 ECTS MSc course – 1 lecture, University of Copenhagen)
2019: Ornithology (7.5 ECTS MSc course – 2 lectures, University of Copenhagen)
Supervision experience
BSc students: Co-supervision of four BSc student projects and two project outside course curriculum at University of Copenhagen, field supervision of two BSc students from Earlham College, and supervision of one Erasmus+ visiting student. Currently I am co-supervising one BSc student, and one short-term project student.
MSc students: Co-supervision of six MSc student projects. Currently, I am co-supervising three MSc students.
PhD students: Hosted two PhD students for one month stay-abroad and laboratory supervision of a PhD student for three months. Currently, I am co-supervising a PhD student at the Swedish Museum of Natural History.
Employees: One full-time research assistant with the Villum Experiment grant (January 2024 – August 2025)
Managerial and Organisational merits
Organisational merits
2026 The VII International Conference of Malaria and other blood Parasite of Wildlife & IV International Symposium of Wildlife Diseases Research Network – Conference Scientific Committee
2026 PhD course on “Environmental DNA”, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (March) – Co-organiser
2026 Symposium on “Advancements in wildlife malaria research in tropical ecosystems” - European conference of Tropical Ecology in Passau, Germany (February) – Main organizer
2025 Workshop on community level associations in bird hosts and malaria parasites at the COST action WIMANET (CA22108) annual meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania (August)
2024 Workshop on avian host and malaria associations at the COST action WIMANET (CA22108) annual meeting in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (February)
2024 Symposium on “Non-invasive molecular methods for biodiversity monitoring in tropical ecosystems” - European conference of Tropical Ecology in Lisbon, Portugal (February) – Co-organizer
2023 Symposium on “Eco-evolutionary dynamics of Avian Microbiomes” - European Ornithological Union meeting in Lund, Sweden (August) – Co-organizer
2023 Round table discussion on methodological challenges related to bird gut microbiomes- European Ornithological Union meeting in Lund, Sweden (August) – Co-organizer
Leadership merits
2023-2027 Work group leader (Identifying the drivers of spatiotemporal variation in multi-host-parasite communities) - COST action WIMANET (CA22108)
2023-2027 Managing committee member - COST action WIMANET (CA22108)
Research Communication and Dissemination
Research Communications
• I have participated in multiple interviews in newspapers (both local – e.g., Jyllands-posten, Kristligt Dagblad - and international – e.g., Scientific American, BBC wildlife magazine) and one radio interview (Australian Broadcasting Commission radio - Pacific) to communicate our findings on novel discovery of two new toxic bird species from Papua New Guinea
• I have generated a press release and participated in an interview at Videnskab.dk magazine to communicate our findings on how moss can act as natural eDNA traps for terrestrial biodiversity monitoring
Public talks
• 2025 - Fuglesymposium, Johannes Larsen Museum, Kerteminde, Denmark. Bodawatta KH. Living with toxins: New Guinean toxic birds and their adaptations to deadly batrachotoxin (16th November)
• 2025 - Fungi Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark. Bodawatta KH & Roslund K. Hidden Fungal diversity in Cave ecosystems (5th October)
Selected oral presentations
• Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden (Invited talk). Bodawatta KH. Advances in eDNA based terrestrial biodiversity surveys: From Air to Moss (3rd June, 2026)
• University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia (invited talk). Bodawatta KH. Advances in eDNA based terrestrial biodiversity surveys: From Air to Moss (23rd April, 2026)
• Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden (invited talk). Bodawatta KH. Moss as a novel eDNA trap for terrestrial biodiversity monitoring (3rd September, 2025)
• Section for Molecular ecology and Evolution section seminar, Globe Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (invited talk). Bodawatta KH. Advances in eDNA based terrestrial biodiversity surveys: From Air to Moss (28th May, 2025)
• Kokomo seminar series, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czechia (invited talk). Bodawatta KH. Advances in eDNA based terrestrial biodiversity surveys: From Air to Moss (14th May, 2025)
• Ecology and Evolution seminar series, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (invited talk). Bodawatta KH. Advances in eDNA based terrestrial biodiversity surveys: From Air to Moss (2nd May, 2025)
• e3Talk, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental changes (CE3C), Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon, Portugal (invited talk). "Microbiomes below our feet: factors driving cave bacterial community structures" (15th Feb., 2024).
• European Society for Tropical Ecology Conference, Lisbon, Portugal (talk). “Living with toxins: convergent modifications of sodium channels against deadly batrachotoxin in New Guinean toxic birds” (12th – 16th Feb., 2024).
• Danish Microbiological Society Annual Congress, Copenhagen, Denmark (poster). “Mound compartments and soil nutrients, but not symbiotic Podaxis fungi, drive microbial landscapes in Trinervitermes termite colonies” (13th Nov., 2023).
• European Ornithological Union meeting, Lund, Sweden (poster). “Identifying optimal air filters to collect airborne eDNA for bird monitoring Identifying optimal air filters to collect airborne eDNA for bird monitoring” (21st – 25th August 2023).
• Gordon Research Conference on Animal Microbial Symbiosis, Tuscany, Italy (poster). “Interplay between diet and gut microbiomes differ between two sympatric closely related omnivorous African viverrids” (18th – 23rd June 2023).
• KSHITIJ foundation seminar series, Gujarat, India (online talk). Bodawatta, K. H. “Birds in a microbial world: How do bird microbiomes facilitate host ecology and evolution” (16th May 2023).
• Evolution and Population genetICs in Denmark (EPIC) conference (talk). “Eco-evolutionary dynamics of avian gut microbiomes” (15th August 2022).
• Danish Microbiological Society Annual Congress, Denmark (poster). “Nutrient-limited subarctic caves harbor diverse and complex soil microbiomes” (11th Nov., 2021).
• Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland (invited seminar). “Drivers of avian-gut microbiome associations” (28th Oct., 2021).
• 2021Molecular Ecology and Evolution lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden (invited seminar). “Barriers and gradients in avian-gut microbiome associations” (14th Oct., 2021).
• Society of tropical ecology (invited seminar). “Avian gut-microbiomes of New Guinea: Are there any barriers and gradients?” (5th Oct., 2021).
• ASM World Microbe Forum (poster). “Species-specific but Not Phylosymbiotic Gut Microbiomes of New Guinean Passerine Birds Are Shaped by Diet and Flight-associated Gut Modifications” (June 2021).
• Danish Microbiological Society Annual Congress, Denmark (poster). “Cloacal swabs and alcohol bird specimens are good proxies for compositional analyses of gut microbial communities of Great tits (Parus major)” (Nov. 2019).
• Gordon Research Conference on Animal Microbial Symbiosis, USA (poster). “The gut microbiota of Parus major (Great Tits) flexibly responds to macronutrient dietary contents” (June 2019).
• International Biogeography Society Biennial Conference, Malaga, Spain (poster/flash talk). “Avian blood parasite prevalence is governed by host communities and colonization histories” (Jan. 2019).
• Danish Microbiological society Conference, Denmark (poster/flash talk). “Impact of fungus-farming termite fungal diet on the gut microbiota of the omnivorous cockroach Pycnoscelus surinamensis” (Nov. 2018).