RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research program in the evolution and ecology of plant-fungal interactions focuses on four key areas of ecological research:
1) Plant-soil feedbacks and invasion biology – evaluating the role of mycorrhizal fungi in facilitating or inhibiting the establishment of invasive plants, particularly along successional gradients and in relation to disturbance
2) Fungal ecology and global change – examining the influence of different mycorrhizal functional groups on carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems
3) Microbial ecology in agroecosystems – a) evaluating the effects of genetically modified crops on nontarget soil organisms and b) identifying key microbial functional groups that improve plant productivity in agroecosystems
4) Genetic basis of plant-fungal interactions – aimed at understanding how mycorrhizal relationships are maintained or lost over evolutionary time.