Author: msastudents Page 10 of 12

Teeratas ‘Tas’ Kijpornyongpan is a PhD student from Bangkok, Thailand, where he completed his undergraduate degree. Tas plans to return to Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, his alma mater, as faculty after he completes his PhD at Purdue University. His primary interests are to explore fungal biodiversity in Thailand, as well as to teach and inspire younger generations about mycology. Currently, Tas is in Dr. M. Catherine Aime’s lab, where he works on the groups of early-diverging basidiomycetes called Ustilaginomycotina. The subphylum comprises smut fungi, one of the most diversified plant pathogens infecting many graminaceous plants. Ustilaginomycotina also consists of other members having a variety of life strategies ranging from animal pathogens, plant-associated fungi, and solely saprobic fungi. Tas’s project attempts to understand potential mechanisms that drive the growth from differences in this group of fungi, as well as the process of growth from switching in dimorphic species. Since this group of fungi has been overlooked in terms of biodiversity, Tas is also interested in exploring more unknown species in this lineage under the taxonomic/phylogenetic frameworks. This fungal dimorphism project has been supported by two MSA research awards, the Salomon Bartnicki-Garcia award, and the Graduate Student Fellowship award.

What is your favorite fungus and why?

It should be my model species Ustilago maydis for sure. Even though I have no idea how good is the “huitlacoche” (corn gall as a Mexican food), the craziness of U. maydis fungal dimorphism has been helping me stay on this track until now.

What is your favorite fact about fungi?

Fungi have many ways for reproduction¾sexual spores, asexual spores, budding or hyphal fragmentation. Even in sexual reproduction, they are so diverse in terms of sexual compatibility and a number of mating types. Since reproduction is a key property of an organism to exist in the world, it is no doubt that how fungi are much more diversified compared to plants and animals.

Any great stories from field work?

Although I am not very specialized in a field work, there is a little funny story when I helped my advisor survey a site. We were looking around to see what types of fungi could be found in the area. My advisor was interested in rust fungi in particular, so she said what structures to look for as a sign for them. Other people started seeing something, and I tried to do the same. Then I found a crawling plant on the ground, and there are aecia (spore-bearing structures of rust fungi) underneath its leaf. So I grabbed the leaf using a bare hand and told everyone “Look! Here is a rust fungus.” My advisor stared at me for a few seconds before monotonously said “Oh, that is a poison ivy.” I was shocked for a minute before throwing the leaf off, then asked someone for water to wash my hand. Thankfully, there was no any subsequent allergic reaction, maybe because I am tolerant to poison ivy.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like reading books and playing card/board games for my indoor activities. Photography is a big part of my outdoor hobby. I love not only taking pictures of spectacular scenery and beautiful flowers, but also having shots of tiny mushrooms/fungi on the ground or any pathogens on plants. These type of photos, as well as collected samples, would be invaluable as teaching materials for my future career.

Jorge Ronny Díaz-Valderrama grew up in the small, but historically important city of Cajamarca, Peru, in the Northern Highlands. He is currently a PhD student at Dr. M. Catherine Aime’s lab at the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University. Jorge describes his research as a kind of “enemy-friend” relationship between Moniliophthora roreri and Jorge himself. The fungus made itself an enemy by causing frosty pod rot on cacao, diminishing cacao production in Latin America and threatening world chocolate production, which is definitely something that makes enemies. However, the fungus is also a good friend to Jorge because of its mysterious reproductive biology, which, as he states, has made his scientific curiosity grow. Moniliophthora roreri belongs to the Marasmiaceae, but lacks production of fruiting body; therefore, a better understanding of its population biology and dissemination capabilities within and among cacao plantations are important research questions that Jorge is working on. He is a recipient of a 2013 MSA Mentor Travel Award, 2016 MSA C. T. Rogerson Award, 2017 MSA International Travel Award, and should probably get a vote for the most enthusiastic talk given at MSA 2017.

What are your career goals/plans for after you’re done your PhD?

I would like to hold at a post-doc position to learn techniques that I haven’t been exposed to yet. Then, with all the skills that I acquired as PhD student and will acquire as post-doc, I would like to adventure myself into the Academic life as a Research Faculty to conduct work that has positive impact in Peru and Latin-American.

What is your favorite fungus and why?

Academically, I really like Wallemia spp. because it can be found pretty much everywhere, in the air, soil, dust, indoors, outdoors, and it is neither Aspergillus nor Penicillium (jokingly). It is also a very important extremophilic genus of fungi that is commonly found in natural solar salterns and hypersaline waters. However, it can spoil your jam or honey. Watch out!

Socially, my favorite fungus is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for obvious reasons…

What is your favorite thing about fungi?

It amazes me how complex these seemingly simple organisms can be. They have all kinds of strategies for dissemination, survival and nutrition. It really scares me to think how much we depend upon them. They basically rule the world.

Any good field work stories?

It was already our third day in the world largest city inaccessible by road, Iquitos, which hides in the middle of Peruvian Upper Amazon forest. Even though I was in my home country, almost everything I experienced there was new to me. It really impressed me that the main means of transportation between towns were taxi-like canoes operated by locals and many times helped by the waters of the Amazon and nearby rivers. As usual, our working day started very early in the morning. We aimed to find M. roreri from wild cacao and cacao relatives. Fortunately, we were guided by two experienced plant taxonomists from the “Universidad de la Amazonía Peruana” who knew extremely well the place. After crossing the Itaya River in one of those “taxis”, we had to walk for two hours before we ran into our first diseased cacao trees. At that point we were in the middle of the jungle, but we were so thrilled to find what we were looking for that we wanted to keep on going despite of being exhausted. We found another M. roreri patch and we all agreed it was time to go back. To our surprise, our guides kept walking in the opposite direction from where we started. We were a little worried but we thought “OK, the river is closer this way, so we will probably take a taxi canoe to go back”. Indeed we got into a canoe; however, it was not taking us back but further and further. Our guides wouldn’t tell us where they were taking us. They would only respond with a plain “do not worry” to our kind of desperate inquiries. After one extra hour navigating and 30 extra minutes walking (equivalent to 1.5 hours of anguish) we managed to get to a little house which at its front door had a stack of pineapples on a small table. Our guides, now turned into a sort of kidnappers, yelled at the house hoping for somebody to come out. A lady finally showed up. “Please, can we have four pineapples? Do you have change of ten?”, our guides asked her. We looked at each other and thought to ourselves “Seriously?! Did we just come all the way here to buy pineapples?” Our guides noticed our faces and told us “Don’t worry, it’s on us”, and grinned. We laughed. The lady approved the transaction and handed them a machete. It is going to sound like a cliché but the imposed pineapple slices were amazing, marvelous! “Best pineapples ever!”, they claimed. I guarantee that this statement is too close to complete truth. The entire detour was so worthy. Reach out to me to get exact GPS coordinates of the pineapple house… if ever interested.

What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

The things I do in my free time in order of priority are:

– Hanging out and having a beer with my friends

– Playing and watching soccer (Peru is about to make it to the world cup after 36 years!)

– Listening to music and playing my guitar, not necessarily good music or songs

– Reading a book, not necessarily good ones as well

Anything else you’d like to add?

Every time I have the opportunity to go to Peru, I contact local Universities and Research Institutions to tell them that I will be around and that I would like to give a small lecture/seminar about what I do. In this way, I have given talks at the “Universidad Nacional de Cajamarca”, Jaen; at the “Universidad Nacional de Piura”, Piura; and at the Center for Research and Promotion for Peasantry (CIPCA), Piura. Students and local researchers seem to enjoy my presentations and we still stay in touch. This is priceless to me.

In the USA, I have volunteered to give science (fungal) lectures to Girl Scouts, and I hope they keep inviting me…

Andrew Loyd is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is a PhD candidate at the University of Florida in Gainesville in the labs of Drs. Jason Smith and Brantlee Richter. He is the recipient of a 2017 MSA Clark T. Rogerson Award. Andrew’s research project focuses on the taxonomy, biology and physiology of the laccate (shiny or varnished) Ganoderma species in the United States. Ganoderma is a large and diverse, globally-distributed genus of basidiomycete wood decay fungi that includes species that cause white rot on a variety of tree species. In addition, Ganoderma species are considered “superior herbs” in traditional Asian medicine, where they are made into teas and tinctures and prescribed as anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing therapies. The taxonomy of the laccate Ganoderma species is confusing, but the lab is currently elucidating evolutionary relationships and biological differences between the laccate Ganoderma species present in the United States.

In addition, the lab has conducted surveys of Ganoderma species in commercially-available supplement products and grow-your-own Ganoderma kits that are labeled as containing G. lucidum sensu lato. Andrew and others in his lab are elucidating what species are actually being sold, because there are likely differences in the quantity and quality of pharmaceutical chemicals (e.g. triterpenes) produced. Furthermore, it is likely that non-native species are being introduced through the mushroom cultivation trade, which could lead to escapes into natural ecosystems. Currently, supplement products are not regulated by the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the medicinal fungus growing trade is often overlooked by the U.S. Animal and Plant Inspection Service.

For the past century, many studies of Ganoderma have used the name Ganoderma for any laccate Ganoderma species growing on hardwood trees. Molecular studies have established that G. lucidum sensu stricto (Curtis) Karst is not native to North America. The lab’s surveys of over 500 collections of Ganoderma species collected in the United States have revealed 12 putative native taxa, including: G. curtisii (Berk.) Murrill, G. martinicense Welti & Court., G. meredithiae Adask. & Gilb., G. oregonense Murrill, G. polychromum (Copel.) Murrill, G. ravenelii Steyaert, G. sessile Murrill, G. tsugae Murrill, G. tuberculosum Murrill, G. c.f. weberianum (Bres. & Henn.) Steyaert, G. zonatum Murrill, and Tomophagus colossus (Fr.) Murrill (syn. G. colossus). Andrew and others are investigating the geographic distributions and host preferences of the laccate Ganoderma species present in the United States to better understand the ecology of these important primary decay fungi. Furthermore, they have characterized the cultural characteristics to better understand the physiology of the laccate Ganoderma species in the U.S. For this Andrew and the lab characterized the optimal temperatures, average linear growth rates, and survival and resiliency to extreme temperatures.

There is some debate whether Ganoderma species are pathogens or early successional, opportunistic saprophytes, as many of these taxa are associated with the decline of living trees. Some Ganoderma species cause root and butt rot of living trees, but the pathogenicity and decay ability within the genus is understudied. Some, such as G. zonatum are considered aggressive pathogens, and have been associated with tree failure and mortality of mature palms, while others, are often saprophytic causing decay in old, weakened tress and can potentially be latent opportunistic saprophytes. Few studies have conducted pathogenicity tests in living trees, while many studies have associated Ganoderma species with a general decline of living trees. The lab is conducting pathogenicity assays with common Ganoderma species across several tree hosts in the southeastern U.S. to address these questions. Ganoderma species identification tools are being developed to make species diagnoses easier. Biological differences likely exist among the native North American Ganoderma species, and these results will be published in peer-reviewed journals soon.

Upon completion of his PhD, Andrew will step into a role as Plant Pathologist/Mycologist for the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories based out of Charlotte, NC. He will continue to work on taxonomy and biology of wood decay fungi, especially species that are associated with living trees. Andrew would like to research different soil management and tree health enhancing cultural practices that can stimulate compartmentalization in living trees as management tactics to reduce the likelihood of tree failures due to decay. Other research interests involve surveys of mycorrhizal fungal species in urban forests relative to native forests, effects of fungicide injections on endophyte biodiversity, and sustainable management of tree diseases in the landscape.

What is your favorite fungus and why?

Obviously, Ganoderma species are the crème de la crème. I have thoroughly enjoyed studying this genus of fungi. Although the literature regarding the taxonomy of this genus is quite confusing, and at times frustrating, it has been very rewarding to unravel the chaos! Also, the cultural significance of Ganoderma species (reishi) in Asian culture is quite fascinating, where several Chinese deities are said to have lived for hundreds of years because of consumption of reishi.

My favorite fungus that I have eaten is the beef steak polypore (Fistulina c.f. hepatica). It is great on tacos or burritos, because it has a sweet and acidic flavor that is reminiscent of tomatoes.

What is your favorite fact/thing about fungi?

Fungi represent a fascinating Kingdom of life that is quite understudied and culturally significant. I think the use of fungi by indigenous people for medicine/religion all around the world is quite fascinating. The fact that indigenous peoples in different parts of the world, independently of each other, came to similar conclusions about the uses and spirituality surrounding fungi is so neat. I have learned a lot about this, especially involving wood decay fungi species, from reading and conversing with Bob Blanchette at the University of Minnesota.

Who is your mycology role model?

Personally: Larry Grand and Bob Blanchette; Academically: William Murrill

Any great stories from field work?

Working with citizen scientists has been quite rewarding in collecting a lot of fungi around the U.S. in a short amount of time. However, this has also has limited the amount of field work I have had to do for my current research. What stuck out to me though through using citizen scientists to aid in field work, was the knowledge and passion of SO many people who are truly dedicated to the study of fungi!

Although I didn’t get out in the field as much as I wanted, I did get the opportunity to go collect fungi in Wisconsin with the Blanchette lab. While collecting, I saw my first real, live porcupine! That was exciting.

What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

In my free time, I enjoy cooking, eating Indian food, playing old-time music (fiddle, banjo, guitar), going to concerts, bird watching, camping, hiking, kayaking and of course collecting fungi!

Washington native Korena Mafune is a PhD student at the University of Washington in Drs. Daniel and Kristiina Vogt’s lab. Korena researches in the Olympic Penninsula in Washington where she focuses on elucidating the role of adventitious roots and their fungal partners in canopy soils of old-growth Acer macrophyllum (big leaf maple). In these temperate rainforests, canopy soils form from epiphytic mats on branches decomposing over time. Some dominant tree species have adapted to develop adventitious rooting systems in these arboreal soils. They are prevalent in old-growth forests throughout the Olympic Peninsula, where stands have been recorded to accumulate 200,000 m^3/ha of canopy soil volume. These unique forests are experiencing more seasonal extremes, such as wetter winters and drier summers, and are known for their temporal stability. Korena is specifically interested in exploring if fungi associating with adventitious rooting systems in canopy soils are acting as adaptive facilitators to environmental change. The research field of canopy soil is relatively young, so it is very important to lay the building blocks for understanding these complex ecosystems. Her specific research aims to identify fungi associating with adventitious and forest floor rooting systems of the same host trees, identify if root fungal communities are unique to the respective soil habitat, and if they shift throughout the experimental drought manipulations. She will also be exploring phosphorus and nitrogen nutrient fluxes, while gathering soil microclimatic data throughout the experimental manipulation. The research group has also been working to create a protocol that will allow fungal community analysis using the MinIon Nanopore Sequencer. They have successfully ran the MinIon, are currently analyzing the barcoded library, and troubleshooting to create an even stronger protocol that will increase accuracy.  Korena’s research is funded by the Daniel E. Stuntz Memorial Foundation, and various local mycological societies (Puget Sound Mycological Society (Ben Woo Scholarship), Oregon Mycological Society, and Sonoma Mycological Society). She is the recipient of the Ben Hall Conservation Genetics Award, and the MSA Forest Fungal Ecology Award. Korena plans to continue researching canopy soil ecosystems in academia, ideally ending in a research scientist or professor position in the Pacific Northwest.

What is your favorite fungus and why?

How can there be just one?!? I love Cantharellus subalbidus, because when the goldens are shy, they always greet me with a plentiful forage. I also love the appearance of Boletus (Xerocomellus) xelleri, and I always get a kick out of having my students feel the consistency of Dacrymyces.

What is your favorite thing about fungi?

The parallel evolution of land plants and symbiotic fungi, and the fact that certain host trees have adapted to have fungal-root relations in canopy soils. Would plants have evolved to be so complex without fungi?! Would we even be here without them?! I also love that a majority of all land plants are holding hands with their best friends (mycorrhiza). Fungi rule the world!!

Who is your mycology role model?

I have met so many enthusiastic mycologists over the last several years. Joe Ammirati has really helped me. I came into this project from an ecological background, and his input has allowed me to step back and better comprehend the extreme complexity of plant-fungal evolution.

Any great stories from field work?

Too many to count, but here are a couple funny stories:

One time when I was leading an introductory fungal field trip, I instructed the students to go forage for some mushrooms to ID, and an overly enthusiastic student grabbed a disguised fuzzy piece of dog poop before I had the chance to give the warning. When I said, ‘Oh no, drop it’, a student said ‘like it’s hot?’. We all had a good laugh.

My current undergraduate assistant has a peculiar talent in which he perfectly imitates a monkey call. So now it comes normal to play Marco-Polo with monkey calls vs. using the walkies, when we are locating each other in field.

While on the topic of monkey-ing around, I was climbing in the Peruvian Amazon a few summers ago, and a family of Howler monkeys decided to investigate. They ended up coming into the tree right across from me ~20’ away, and just stared at me for about 10 minutes. They had a little baby with them, and it was so cute. I was semi nervous about them feeling threatened, but maybe being up on their level helped me out.

What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

I train martial arts/boxing about 5-6 days a week, which takes up most of my free time. Other than that, I love spending time with my family and fur babies (a husky and two kitties), swimming in my favorite Washington waterholes, hula hooping, and foraging during the right seasons. I also love food, whether it is cooking it, eating it, or both.

A native of Montreal, Emile Gluck-Thaler is a PhD candidate at The Ohio State University in Dr. Jason C. Slot’s lab. Emile is interested in the genetics of fungal ecology. Fungal lifestyles are notoriously difficult to pin down, and often, a single species will be associated with multiple ecological roles. For example, some fungi can shift between decomposer, pathogen and mutualist within a single round of their lifecycle. This high degree of phenotypic plasticity is a really important part of how fungi evolve and interact with other organisms, and Emile wants to learn more about how they do it. Right now, he is researching the phenomenon of gene clustering, where genes involved in the same metabolic pathway are positioned next to one another on fungal chromosomes, in order to better understand how fungal ecology and metabolism are reflected in the organization of genes in genomes. Emile writes computer programs and builds phylogenetic trees to identify new types of gene clusters and to study the evolutionary processes leading to their assembly, distribution and degradation. His ultimate objective is to link gene clusters with metabolic pathways that help fungi adapt to particular niches. After completing his PhD, Emile plans to post-doc before finding a research position at a university. He plans to ultimately find or make a job where he can continue learning, thinking, and writing about fungi.

What is your favorite fungus and why?

Difficult question, but it has to Septbasidium apiculatum. This species, along with many others in its genus, weaves dense mycelial mats that shelter sap-sucking insects on the surfaces of some plants. These fungi then parasitize some of the insects, holding them in place and using them as a living straw to suck nutrients out of the plant! This is just a wonderful example of how fungi co-opt other organisms while adapting to their environment.

What is your favorite fact/thing about fungi?

Fungi are about as close as you can get to studying alien life without having to leave Earth. Because their body plan is essentially a modular network, they challenge our preconceptions of individuality that are based on traditional animal and plant paradigms. This never ceases to blow my mind.

What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

Foodwise, I’m really into making kimchi, and have lately been trying to go beyond cabbage and ferment all kinds of different veggies. I love to hike, but tend to slow everyone else down, as I can get a little obsessive about finding the right angle to photograph the fungi I come across. I also am an avid boardgamer.

Anything else you’d like to talk about?

One of my goals over the next few years is to make a board game about fungi. Board games are a great way to get people engaged with subjects that they wouldn’t otherwise care about, and I think that even a very basic game based on the fundamentals of fungal biology and ecology would go a long way to help familiarize people with fungi.

Lindsey Becker grew up in North Carolina, where she continues to reside. Lindsey is a Master’s student in Dr. Marc Cubeta’s lab at North Carolina State University where she works on a plant growth promoting fungus in a floriculture system. Lindsey is analyzing foliage area, plant tissue nutrient composition, biomass, and flower counts of Calibrachoa (mini-petunias) in relation to the plant growth promoting fungus Mortierella elongaga, for the link between soil/plant microbiomes and the timing/abundance of flowers. She is finishing up her MS thesis with the pleasant task of counting flowers, and preparing for her PhD.

What are your career goals/plans after you’re done your current position?

I would like to work for the USDA ARS as a research scientist specializing in understanding the benefits of plant microbiomes. I’m also very interested in working for biotech companies seeking to exploit fungal endophytes to prevent disease development.

What is your favorite fungus and why?

I love Microstoma floccossum (shaggy scarlet cup). It’s hard to spot during a casual walk in the woods and it is very Dr. Seuss-like with its pink cup and white hairs.

What is your favorite fact about fungi?

That the hyphal tip is capable of puncturing gold foil. That is just nuts.

Any great stories from field work?

I used to core dead ash trees in Michigan, and the sound of the tree being cored would start a call-and-response with any sandhill cranes that were nearby. One time in the NC mountains a couple of adorable baby black bear cubs wandered into our research plot about 30 feet away from us. Fortunately, we never encountered mama bear and we were able to shoo away the cubs.

What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

I love to bike, both to commute and for fun. I am never a serious biker because all of my routes are centered around breweries, coffee shops, and bakeries.

Anything else you’d like to talk about?

Outreach is always a blast- you never know what kind of questions people might have for you about fungi. The last time I volunteered I looked at pictures of someone’s diseased cherry tree and received advice on where to start my own commercial mushroom farm. Kids generally ask the best questions about fungi because they make very few assumptions.

Abigail Courtney grew up just outside of Manhattan in New York. She moved to New Jersey for her undergraduate education, where she got her B.S. in bioinformatics from Ramapo College of New Jersey. While there, she worked on an undergraduate research project titled Responses of growth, antioxidants and gene expression in smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) to various levels of salinity. While in New Jersey, Abbie completed a summer program through Rutgers University studying the molecular evolution of RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase in ticks.

From there, Abbie moved to the University of Georgia where she is currently a graduate student in Zachary Lewis’ lab. Her thesis is titled H2A.Z and Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 in Neurospora crassa: An unlikely partnership, where she examines how the three-dimensional structure of DNA affects gene expression. The Lewis lab is interested in identifying the mechanisms that govern the establishment and maintenance of silent chromatin in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 catalyzes the methylation of Lysine 27 on Histone 3 (H3K27me2/3). Polycomb group proteins assemble specialized repressive chromatin domains that are critical for proper gene regulation in plants, animals, and some fungi. The specific mechanisms of how Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 target domains are established and maintained are poorly understood. Abbie recently discovered that the histone variant H2A.Z is required for normal patterns of H3K27me2/3 in N. crassa. H2A.Z has been implicated in DNA repair, gene repression, and transcriptional activation. The focus of her thesis project is to define the mechanisms of these context-specific H2A.Z functions, including establishment or maintenance of H3K27me2/3. Abbie is a 2017 recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, MSA best graduate poster, and a GSA Career Development Symposia Grant to work with six other students from the University of Georgia to develop the Southeast Mycology Symposium (SEMS).

What are your career goals? What are your plans for after your PhD?

That’s what I am working on figuring out this year! After my PhD, I plan to continue my adventure in fungal biology working as a postdoc.

What is your favorite mushroom/fungus?

I think I am a little biased here, but I’m going to have to go with Neurospora crassa.

What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

I read, crochet, and volunteer at the local animal shelter. I love to cook and prepare my meals for the entire week every Sunday.

Anything else you’d like to talk about (Career goals, outreach, science communication, photography)?

I am the VP of Digital Media for S.P.E.A.R. – Science Policy Education, Advocacy, and Research. SPEAR is a student organization that aims to provide a resource for discussion of science policy issues as well as a platform for initiating advocacy and promoting research within and beyond the University of Georgia.

I am the social media coordinator and webmaster for the UGA Fungal Group.

Every year I judge the junior division (grades 6-8) at the Georgia Science and Engineering Science Fair.

I am a volunteer expert for the “Ask an Expert” section of the website Sciencebuddies.com. I help guide students who have questions related to their science fair projects.

Laura Tipton is at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa in Nicole Hynson’s lab where she is an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Microbiome of the Built Environment Postdoctoral Fellow. She works on the longest aerobiota study and one of the longest microbial time-course studies known, looking at fungi captured in air filters over a 13-year period at the Mauna Loa Observatory. Because of the island’s remote location and the observatory’s high elevation, almost all of the fungi arrived via long distance dispersal so they have a lot of questions to ask about the community, starting with diversity and hopefully expanding to include the bacteria.

Before the move to Hawai’i, Laura grew up in Virginia and attended the University of Virginia for her undergraduate degree in biostatistics with a minor in dance. From there, she completed her Master’s degree in statistics from George Washington University and her PhD in computational biology from Carnegie Mellon-University of Pittsburgh. Laura’s dissertation was titled Quantitative Inferences from the Lung Microbiome, which used next-generation sequencing on samples from human lungs. This study looked for associations with inflammation markers in the human, predicted interactions between bacteria and fungi and how those interactions impact the microbial community network, and integrated multiple -omics technologies to get a better picture of the community metabolism.

What are your career goals? What are your plans for after your post-doc?

I’d love to be a professor. Since before starting my PhD, I wanted to be a research professor, in part because I have never taught a whole semester, college level course. Recently I’ve had two realizations that make me think I may like to be a “regular” professor just as much: 1) the scarcity of research-only positions, and 2) that teaching is teaching, no matter the subject, and I’ve always enjoyed teaching dance classes.

What is your favorite mushroom/fungus, and what do you like about it?

I’m partial to Emericella nidulans (aka Aspergillus nidulans) because it is the first (and so far, only) fungus I’ve grown in culture, but I’m open to new favorites as I learn more about different species.

What is your favorite thing/fact about mushrooms/fungi?

I don’t know if I’ve been in mycology long enough to have a favorite thing (I started my postdoc in January 2017) but I’m still in awe of the variety and ubiquity of fungi.

Do you have any funny or interesting stories about field or lab work?

Coming from a background in statistics, I didn’t do any lab work until my PhD. My first unsupervised lab task was to extract DNA from induced sputum (coughed up slime) samples, some of which originated from patients with HIV. My advisor was so surprised and proud to see me in the “wet” lab that she ran to get her phone and take a picture of me before she reminded me that I needed to be wearing a respirator and goggles due to the potential of HIV in the samples (I was following the rest of the safety protocols, I swear). It then became a tradition for her or someone else in the lab to take pictures of me every time I did anything in the wet lab.

What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

I bake, play board games, and stand-up paddleboard, but mostly I dance. Specifically, I study a form of classical modern dance in the style of Isadora Duncan. Sometimes my work bleeds over into my hobbies; I recently presented work at the Isadora Duncan International Symposium analyzing the group of “Duncan dance” practitioners as a network.

J. Alejandro Rojas is currently a post-doctoral research scientist working with Rytas Vilaglays at Duke University. His postdoctoral research is focused on plant-fungal interactions, with a specific focus on symbiotic fungi associated with the Populus rhizosphere. The aim is to understand the functional role, diversity, and population structure of dominant fungal species in this system

He is originally from Colombia, and I grew up in small town outside of Bogotá. Alejandro received his B.Sc. Microbiology (Minor in Chemistry) from Los Andes University, in Bogotá, Colombia in 2005. He also earned a M.Sc from Los Andes University, his thesis title was Isoenzymatic characterization of proteases, amylases and partial purification of proteases from filamentous fungi causing biodeterioration of industrial paper. The aim of that research was to characterize the diversity of fungi growing on early 1900’s documents and characterize the enzymatic activities of these fungi, and to establish isolates with a bioprospective potential to be use for the production of enzymes. Alejandro than traveled to Michigan State Univeristy, where he received a second M.Sc. working on Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Phytophthora infestans isolates from Michigan and tuber late blight development. He used different plant and in vitro assays to characterize phenotype of P. infestans in conjunction with SSRs. Aljeandro earned his Ph.D in Plant Pathology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior from MSU in 2016, working with Dr. Martin Chilvers. His dissertation was titled, Diversity of oomycetes associated with soybean seedling diseases. The aim of that research was to characterize oomycete communities associated with soybean seedlings using culture and amplicon sequencing, as well as developing detection methods for major oomycete species affecting soybean.

What are your career goals? What are your plans for after your post-doc?

My current career goals are centered around the ecology of soilborne fungi, either beneficial or pathogenic fungi. There is a vast field of research being developed using the novel microbiome approaches, but there is room for merging traditional concepts and methods with novel approaches to understand the complex interactions happening at the soil and root level.  In terms of mentoring, I also look forward to teaching and mentoring students taking advantage of the research to provide them with the tools and the experience to thrive on science.  Nowadays, it is important to support students and help them to communicate their science to different audiences, which is something that all of science is currently struggling to do.  To accomplish these goals, I hope to become a professor to mentor and guide students providing opportunities like the ones that I have received.  Mentoring is a great responsibility, but it can be very rewarding as you mentor people not only in science, but also on their professional values and the lab life promoting their wellness and success.

What is your favorite fungus, and what do you like about it?

One of the fist fungi that I was able to observe under the microscope was Cladosporium, the “shield” shaped conidia, it is one of the things that I will always remember and enjoy.  It is a pretty simple fungus and it is present everywhere, but I crossed paths with this fungus a couple times.  One of the first encounters was in plant pathology, since it was one of the main diseases on tomato and it was also used as model to develop early effector studies in fungi.  Nowadays, some collaborators are trying to use it to control diseases on poplar.  I am sure that there will be more interesting things that will come with the time about this fungus.  Nonetheless, I must say that now that I got to work with ectomycorrhizal fungi, the boletes are nice and charismatic, there are few species in Populus that are very nice and they are making it to my favorite mushroom list, such as a Boletus coccyginus.

What is your favorite thing/fact about mushrooms/fungi?

Coming from a plant pathology background, it is really amazing the plasticity and subtle elegance that some of these organisms have to “infect” plants, the elaborate mechanisms that have evolved to do so, and it is really exciting to see this also present in the fungal symbiosis with plants, like the mycorrhizas.  There is so much to discover and understand regarding the interactions between fungi and plants. This is one of my favorite topics and one of focuses of my career.  It is also intriguing the various interactions that fungi can have with different organisms across different groups or kingdoms, such as viruses, bacteria and insects.

Do you have any funny or interesting stories about field or lab work?

It was pretty cool to visit Washington and Oregon last year to sample mushrooms growing under poplar, you get to see really amazing forests and landscapes, and how the landscapes change quickly going from west to east, driving along the Columbia river and then across Mt. Hood.  I have to say that it was an interesting and amazing field trip and great way to start working with mushrooms and fungi associated with Poplar.

What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

Work-life balance is really important for me, and my free time is dedicated to my family.  My two little children are my main focus nowadays.  In other times the geek inside me loved to read and watch movies like Lord of the Rings and all the related novels. When I go back home I enjoy fishing with my dad.