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Current research projects

As principal or co-principal investigator:​

  • Systematics and genomics of plant pathogens (in collaboration with and funded by USDA-ARS, 2023-2026)

  • Diversity of mycoviruses in fungal endophytes and their cryptic roles in plant health (funded by U.S. National Science Foundation, 2023-2026)

  • Polyphasic taxonomy of endophytic Hypocreales (Ascomycota).

  • Fungal communities that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of two sloth species in Costa Rica (Choloepus hoffmani and Bradypus variegatus)

  • Fungi for the bioremoval/ bioremediation of PCBs and PFAS.

  • Revealing the phyllosphere microbiome in coffee plants (Coffea arabica) and their interaction with the coffee rust (Hemileia vastatrix).

  • Characterization of the mycobiota associated to the biodeterioration of historical documents in Costa Rica.  

  • U.S. Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute. Genus-wide genomics of the biomass-degrading and plant-beneficial Trichoderma.

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As collaborator:

  • Coffee fungi below and aboveground: agroecological experiments for teaching and learning about fungal diversity and ecosystem function. Lead PI: L. Aldrich-Wolfe (North Dakota State University). 

  • Spillover of coffee diseases into forest ecosystems and consequences for forest plant communities. Lead PI: L. Aldrich-Wolfe (North Dakota State University).

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Past research projects

As principal or co-principal investigator:

  • Collaborative Research: Dimensions: Secondary metabolites as drivers of fungal endophyte community diversity.

  • Effects of endophytic fungi in health and resilience of coffee plants.

  • Reliable and customized biocontrol for Fusarium wilt of tomato.

  • Systemic analysis of death of strawberry plants [Fragaria ananassa (Weston) Roziersp.] in the main Costa Rica production areas and preliminary determination of the pathogenicity of the associated fungi.

  • Endophytic fungi in seagrasses in the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Costa Rica.

  • Systematics of endophytic fungi associated to wild Rubiaceae plants in natural forests.

  • Effects of thermal changes on endophytic fungi from plants in tropical alpine (paramo) ecosystems. 

  • Biodiversity of endophytic fungi in fruits affecting the plant metabolome.

  • Fruit-eating bats and endophytic fungi: an unexplored indirect mutualism.

  • Digitization TCN: Collaborative: The Macrofungi Collection Consortium: Unlocking a Biodiversity Resource for Understanding Biotic Interactions, Nutrient Cycling and Human Affairs. 

  • Systematics of fungi associated to wild rubber (Hevea spp.) trees in the Amazon basin: Searching for specialized biocontrol agents against economically important plant pathogens. 

  • Monographic studies of the plant- and insect-associated genera: Nectria, Neonectria, and Cosmospora (Nectriaceae, Hypocreales). 

  • Biodiversity of fungal endophytes in rubber trees: Towards understanding their role as plant protection agents. 

  • Effects of forest disturbance and regeneration on hypocrealean fungal diversity. ​​

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