Elie Poulin

After his Master thesis, Elie Poulin spent 13 months in Kerguelen Island for a French National Service as research assistant of the “Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls”. He was in charge to perform a population genetic study of the brooding sea-urchin Abatus cordatus. Back in France, he integrated the PhD in Ecology and Evolution of Université Montpellier II, under the supervision of Dr. Jean-Pierre Féral. His thesis addressed the adaptative significance and evolutionary consequences of brood-protection in echinoids in the Southern Ocean. During his thesis, Elie Poulin participated and led several summer expeditions to sub-Antarctic Kerguelen and Crozet islands, and to the East Antarctic in Adelie Land. In 1996, he was honored by the best thesis award (Wintrebert prize) adjudicated by the “Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls”.

After that, he was granted by the French Catalan Region to do a postdoctoral internship in the Department of Molecular Biology of Barcelona and Cellular, CID-CSIC, under the supervision of Dr. Lluis Cornudella. Here, he investigated the reproductive mode and its evolutionary consequence in a hermaphrodite and brooding ophiuroid.

In 1999, Elie Poulin moved to Chile for a new postdoctoral training in the P. Universidad Católica de Chile. He first performed a costal oceanographic study to understand how the upwelling events affected the recruitment of Concholepas concholepas, a commercially important mollusk in Chile. Then, he achieved a population genetic study on the Chilean jack mackerel, the Chile's main industrial fishery. Using mitochondrial and microsatellite markers, he provided valuable information for fisheries management authority, suggesting the existence of a single stock along Chilean coasts.

Elie Poulin held an Assistant Professor position in the Universidad de Chile in 2003. Here, he founded the Laboratory of Molecular Ecology to expand the use of genetic tools in Ecology and promote population genetics and phylogeographic studies on Chilean fauna. Since then, he led or co-led 14 research competitive government funding projects. Presently, Elie Poulin is director of the Millennium Institute of Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems, a 10-years granted project that includes 20 researchers from different Chilean universities.

Elie Poulin is currently full Professor of the Faculty of Sciences of Universidad de Chile and director of the PhD program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Since he was hired at the university, he has training 22 PhD (+5 ongoing) and 13 Master students (+1 ongoing), mostly in the field of population genetics, phylogeography and evolution of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine fauna, often in the southern part of South America and in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions. Seven postdoctoral young researchers have been also trained in the Molecular Ecology Laboratory.

In collaboration with his research group, Elie Poulin published up to date 142 research articles in indexed scientific journals, sometimes in prestigious ones such as Evolution, TREE, Nature Communication and PNAS. In 2019, he received the Antarctic Spirit distinction awarded for the first time by the Chilean Antarctic Institute INACH for his contribution to Chilean Antarctic science and for the training of young researcher dedicated now to Antarctic and sub-Antarctic research. Since 2002, he participated and led numerous field expeditions in Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetlands, Kerguelen and Patagonia. His work on the evolution and biogeography in the Southern Ocean has been also broadly recognized by the international scientific community. In 2016, he was invited to the Open Scar Meeting in Malaysia to give one of the four keynote talks. This meeting holds every two years and bring together Antarctic scientist from all disciplines.

Elie Poulin is presently member of the Chilean Council of Antarctic Research (CNIA) and Chilean representative in the SCAR Scientific Standing Group of Life Sciences. He is founder member of directory board of the new Cape Horn Sub-Antarctic Center in Puerto Williams. He also leads the Aquatic Biodiversity workgroup of the Oceanographic National Committee (CONA) and past-President of the Chilean Society of Evolution.