Gillian Bergmann is from Portland, Oregon. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in the spring of 2019, and now works as a faculty research assistant (lab technician) for Dr. Posy Busby and Dr. Jared LeBoldus in OSU’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Tell us about your project I am currently working…

Sara Getson hails originally from State College, Pennsylvania where she received bachelor’s degrees in Plant Science and French Language. She is currently a master’s student in her final year studying under Dr. Mary Hausbeck at Michigan State University. Tell us about your project! So, I am really excited to be working on two different crops;…

Regina Bledsoe grew up in a small town on the South Louisiana Gulf Coast. She is currently doing her research at East Carolina University Greenville, NC. Tell us about your project! While soil may seem lifeless to most, below-ground plant roots, fungi, and bacteria (and other organisms) are living life to the fullest below the surface.…

Xiomy is a Master’s student that grew up in Pucallpa, Peru. She is currently doing her research at Western Illinois University with the guidance of Dr. Andrea Porras-Alfaro. Tell us about your project! My project focuses on the description of a new fungus within Pleosporales using multi-locus sequencing and microscopy, then I will try to…

Tania Kurbessoian is a PhD student that grew up in Los Angeles, California. She is currently doing her research at the University of California-Riverside with the guidance of her advisor Dr. Jason Stajich. Tell us about your project! Currently I am looking into studying fungi in Desert Biocrusts. Biocrusts (Biological Soil Crusts) are a complex…

Rebecca Shay is a PhD student at Michigan State University and is originally from Grand Haven, Michigan. She is currently working in the lab of Dr. Frances Trail. Her primary project focuses on understanding early infection responses of Fusarium graminearum in barley. Specifically, one of her projects looks at a natural defense response in barley…

Chance Noffsinger is a native of Whitefish, Montana and currently working in the lab of Dr. Cathy Cripps at Montana State University, Bozeman. Chance’s research focuses on assessing the diversity, distribution, and ecology of the genus Russula in the Rocky Mountain alpine zone. Dr. Cathy Cripps and Chance have found over 150 collections of Russula…

Austin Frewert is a native of Otsego County, NY and is currently a MS student at Washington State University, working in the lab of Dr. Tanya Cheeke. His research focuses on investigating the efficacy of mycorrhizal fungi and biochar to restore plant communities on abandoned mine sites. His goal is to determine if co-amending highly…

S. Earl Kang, Jr. is a PhD student at the University of Georgia and is originally from Southern California. He is currently working in the lab of Dr. Michelle Momany. His primary project is understanding conidial germination via transcriptomics based approach. Earl is interested in using the transcript expression profiles to develop diagnostic methods for…

Anat Belasen is a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, originally from upstate New York. She is currently in Tim James’ lab, where she is researching the effects of forest fragmentation on frog health. Specifically, Anat is examining how frog host genetics change with fragmentation, and whether these genetic changes affect susceptibility to fungal…