29.01.2026 | Carolina Cornejo | WSL News
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As a scientist, I am convinced that knowledge must be shared. In technologically underdeveloped countries, a lack of infrastructure and knowledge about modern technologies hinders scientific progress and the careers of talented researchers. As part of the TreeFunAZ project, we are therefore exchanging technology and knowledge between Switzerland and Azerbaijan to enable regular monitoring of fungi in Azerbaijani forests. The aim is to enable researchers at the Botanical Institute in Baku to detect potentially harmful fungi early on, before these organisms reach Europe. This requires conducting periodic surveys in the forests, setting up a functioning laboratory, and training staff in molecular diagnosis of fungi.
A laboratory for a hot climate ¶
Summers in Baku are long, very hot and humid. The laboratory concept thus had to take into consideration both the facilities of the Botanical Institute and the climatic conditions. The institute had two rooms with few power sockets, running water, a couple of tables and two old refrigerators. It was clear that the existing facilities first required an upgrade. The laboratory needed additional power connections, air conditioning, tables, and laboratory stools.
In Switzerland, my WSL colleague Quirin Kupper and I drew up a plan for the two rooms and searched catalogues for suitable equipment and tools. We paid attention to criteria such as durability, ease of maintenance and simple operation. I contacted companies in and outside Azerbaijan. Business is conducted differently in Azerbaijan than it is here. For example, suppliers of laboratory equipment require pre-purchase agreements for customs clearance, so I obtained quotes and drew up purchase agreements.
The long-awaited laboratory equipment has arrived! ¶
Over the course of several months, the ordered equipment arrived in Baku. In October 2025, I travelled to Azerbaijan. My colleagues from the Botanical Institute and I spent many hours cleaning the furniture, unpacking and testing the equipment, and writing user manuals and maintenance instructions. After ten days, the installation was complete and the mission accomplished: the Botanical Institute now had the long-awaited laboratory, which opened up a whole new perspective for its research. This means that our colleagues in Azerbaijan can now help us with the early detection of harmful fungi before they reach Switzerland undetected. I was overwhelmed by what I had achieved. Reason enough for a festive inauguration!
It’s time to celebrate ¶
On 16 October 2025, the Botanical Institute in Baku opened the laboratory with a ceremony. Among the invited guests of honour were the Swiss Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mr Thomas Stähli, and Mr Iltifat Ibrahimov from the Azerbaijan Agency for Science and Higher Education. The ambassador kindly represented the SNSF, which financed the laboratory.
In addition to many Azerbaijani delicacies, there was a large cake bearing the logos of all the partners involved: the Botanical Institute, the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). I was very touched by this gesture. The director of the Botanical Institute also presented us with an Azerbaijani and a Swiss flag, which still adorn the laboratory in Baku.
The collaboration continues ¶
In Azerbaijan, I learned that with a tight budget and the concept of ‘reduced to the max,’ the results can far exceed the investment. Today, our young colleagues in Baku are already working independently in the new molecular biology laboratory and can continue to pursue the goals of our project even after it has ended. We look forward to further productive cooperation.
Read part one of the blog here: Hunting for hidden fungi in Azerbaijan
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