Master of Science in Mycology, University of Nairobi, Kenya

Current Research:

Biodiversity and systematics of the Pyrenomycete (Ascomycetes) fungi.Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are ubiquitous in most of the world's terrestrial ecosystems. They provide important services to their plant hosts (nitrogen, phosphorus, pathogen and drought protection) in exchange for carbon. I am interested in how this group of organisms (Glomeromycota) influences plant diversity patterns and what controls their own diversity. I work with plants and fungi taken from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory prairie restoration. My research will allow plant and restoration ecologists to better understand the influence of soil microbes on plant diversity and community composition.