Chair: Diana Vargas-Hernandez
Hi! My name is Diana Vargas-Hernandez. I’m a second-year Master’s student in the Environmental and Conservation Science Program. This program belongs to the Department of Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University. I’m an enthusiastic learner of the mycology world. I’m especially interested in plant-fungi interactions. Currently, I’m working on the identification of potential synergistic effects of fungal endophytes against the coffee pathogen Mycena citricolor. I’m a believer in the importance of science communication, which is the reason why last year I supported the MSA SPS board as vice chair. Getting involved in the executive board allowed me to connect with peers from different fields in Mycology, extending my networks like a mycelium. During 2025-2026, I would like to support MSA SPS as Chair. I consider I have the experience in teamwork, as well as the energy and motivation to assume the role and do my best to improve the MSA SPS board and keep sharing my passion for fungi with others.
Vice Chair: Isabelle (Bella) Stiver
My name is Bella Stiver and I am a PhD student at Oregon State University studying plant endophyte-pathogen interactions in the Halliday Lab. While my specific research interests are related to fungal pathogens and microbial community assembly, I am fascinated by all fungal ecology and evolution, so MSA is a great fit for me! I am nominating myself for Vice Chair of the MSA Student and PostDoc section. I would be thrilled to serve as Vice Chair and utilize my experience on the MSA SPS Executive Board and as President of my department’s Graduate Student Association from 2024-2025 in this position. As Webmaster of MSA SPS, I maintained our website and co-created the newsletters to keep members updated about our events and other opportunities. I am also working with Prasanth to continue the tradition of MSA SPS Trivia at the 2025 meeting. As President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA), I coordinated social events every term to facilitate community among graduate students. I also oversaw the revival of the GSA Travel Award that supported two graduate students in attending conferences this past year, and I am motivated to support students and postdocs in MSA through membership and registration scholarships. I also supported other officers in a variety of roles and hope to do the same in MSA SPS as Vice Chair. Overall, I love cultivating community and professional opportunities and I hope to do this in MSA SPS, so we can all thrive as people and professionals.
Secretary: Alex Lando
My name is Alex Lando, and I am a second year PhD student working with Dr. Kathie Hodge at Cornell University and Dr. Brian Lovett at the USDA-ARS. My introduction to mycology was five years ago as an undergrad at the University of Chicago, where I took a class by Dr. Thorsten Lumbsch on symbioses. From then on I was obsessed, and wandered for days around the halls of the Field Museum of Natural History asking people to join their fungi labs. Eventually, Dr. Matt Nelsen agreed. I spent three years at the museum attempting to reconstitute the lichen symbiosis in a laboratory setting, and applied to grad school knowing I wanted to continue working with other difficult-to-culture fungi. My PhD project is on determining the evolutionary trajectory of the Entomophthorales (“Insect Destroyers”) using comparative genomics. Last year’s MSA meeting was the highlight of my year and I can’t wait to be a more integrated member of the SPS! These past two years I have served as the Plant Sciences Representative to the Cornell Grad Student Assembly, and have been managing secretarial duties for the Plant Pathology Grad Student Association and the Cornell Advancing Science and Policy Club. I have kept meticulous records for both my grad student organizations as well as my outreach projects with elementary and middle school students through Expanding Your Horizons and GRASSHOPR. By serving as the SPS Secretary, I would be honored to maintain SPS records and ensure timely and vibrant communications with our members!
Treasurer: Nandin Ganjoloo
Hello! I am a second-year PhD student from Mongolia researching wood decay fungi in Dr. Jiwei Zhang’s lab at the University of Minnesota. My studies focus on building gene editing tools for the model species Gloeophyllum trabeum to understand the fundamental science behind brown rot degradation of plant biomass and develop novel biotechnological applications based on our findings. At my University, I volunteer with the Council of Graduate Students to review grant proposals from fellow graduate students for research, conferences, and career development opportunities. I was fortunate to use skills from my past experiences while serving as the treasurer for the MSA Student and Postdoc Section 2024-2025 Executive Board. I am nominating myself again to continue serving in this role. As there are relatively few academic mycology programs and students, it is important to build community around this shared interest. Through granting scholarships, online programming, organizing events during the annual MSA meeting, and keeping track of the relevant finances, I found my purpose in expanding the opportunities and space for students in mycology. I am looking forward to attending the MSA annual meeting for the first time this year to connect with other students face to face and increase engagement with the opportunities MSA SPS has to offer.
Merchandise Chair: Lauren Parry
I am a PhD student at Clark University in the lab of Dr. Javier Tabima. My project focuses on the understudied, opportunistic mammalian pathogen, Basidiobolus. Its response to conventional antifungals does not follow the same trends as other pathogenic fungi, so I am working toward uncovering antifungal response mechanisms with the goal of identifying new potential drug targets to combat emerging infections. Last year at MSA, I got connected to SPS by talking to those selling merchandise at the table. I want to continue this as SPS merchandise chair where I will connect people through our fungal merchandise. My current involvement in the Clark University Graduate Workers Union (CUGWU) has prepared me for the organization side of this position. I also have previous job experience in a commercial setting where I maintained inventory and organized item transport. Lastly, my experience as treasurer and president of a club during my undergraduate taught me to delegate tasks while working alongside other executive board members.
Communication and Social Media Chair: Clancy Larmour
Hello! My name is Clancy Larmour and I’m a student at NC State University, soon to graduate with dual Bachelor’s in Biochemistry and Microbiology. I’ll be continuing at NC State for a Master’s in Soil Science studying ectomycorrhizal fungi, their symbiosis with loblolly pine as well as in nutrient deficiency. As president of the Mycology Club at NC State, I’ve worked to build a welcoming community through education and outreach. I also run a YouTube channel dedicated to fungi (CraterAlias) which has helped me hone skills in science communication and audience engagement across multiple platforms. I’m excited to bring these skills to the Communication Chair role and apply them to strengthen the section’s visibility. I hope to continue the fantastic work done by the Students and Postdocs section while building upon it: vitalizing social media presence, amplifying student research, and disseminating information about regional mycology events. I believe in the potential of fungi to impact a wide range of fields, and I feel the same about the dedicated mycologists who study them. I aim to increase visibility of the Students section and highlight the fantastic diversity of students in MSA.
Webmaster: Kim Correll Syring
My name is Kimberly Syring and I am a Ph.D. candidate at Oregon State University where I currently study the genomics and secondary metabolism of Basidiobolus in the Spatafora lab. I am particularly interested in discovering how environmental factors influence functional expression, and how this impacts the ecology and evolution of fungi. My relationship with fungi has been lifelong, and I have enjoyed being able to share my love of fungi through local community outreach programs such as Corvallis Mushroom Day. I believe I would be well suited to fill the role of webmaster for the MSA Student and PostDoc section as I have previous experience designing websites, navigating different social platforms, and TAing courses in Bioinformatics. I hope to contribute by keeping the website up to date and supporting the other members of the board in any way I can. I would be excited to collaborate with the executive board to promote communication and connection between all our members. I have been a student member of MSA since my undergrad and have appreciated how much time and effort this section has put towards supporting members. I would be honored to be given the opportunity to serve this community further.
Postdoc Representative: Eduardo Perez-Pazos
I earned my PhD at the University of Minnesota, where I researched host-specificity patterns between ectomycorrhizal fungi and their host plants, as well as the effects of historical contingency and priority effects on fungal necromass decomposition. I am broadly interested in fungal ecology, particularly within the context of priority effects. I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in Posy Busby’s Lab at Oregon State University, working with foliar fungi associated with Populus trichocarpa. I’ve been a proud member of MSA since 2019, and during that time, the society has always felt like a welcoming and inspiring community. As a Postdoc, I’m excited about the opportunity to give back by strengthening connections within the Student and Postdoc Section (SPS), as well as by finding new ways to foster communication and collaboration. Over the next year, I would like to support my fellow SPS members by listening to their ideas, understanding their needs, and working together on different activities, such as seminars, career panels, or outreach events. I also plan to connect with new research groups and Faculty to share the benefits of joining MSA. While I have not yet served in the SPS, I am excited about this opportunity. I’m committed to doing everything I can to make our mycological community continue to grow and thrive.