Current research projects

As principal or co-principal investigator:

Exploring the role of fruit-eating bats in the dispersal of plant pathogens and the Escape hypothesis

Funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Lead principal investigator: Dr. Priscila Chaverri. Co-principal investigators: Dr. Gloriana Chaverri (University of Costa Rica) and Dr. Max Chavarria (University of Costa Rica). 2025-2028.

Piper sancti-felicis

Priscila Chaverri with students

MSc student Alison Munaylla

Gloriana Chaverri with a Carollia perspicillata

C. perspicillata poop

Systematics and genomics of plant pathogens

Funded by USDA-ARS. Lead principal investigator: Dr. Priscila Chaverri. Collaborators: Dr. Lisa Castlebury, Dr. Megan Romberg, and Dr. Catalina Salgado-Salazar. 2023-2028.

Monstera rust, Entyloma meridionale, and an unidentified fungus on Phoenix palm

Diversity of mycoviruses in fungal endophytes and their cryptic roles in plant health

Funded by U.S. National Science Foundation. Lead principal investigator: Dr. Priscila Chaverri. Collaborators: Dr. James Culver (University of Maryland) and Dr. Max Chavarría (University of Costa Rica). 2023-2026.

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) image of hyphal cross-sections of isolates M5t, K21 and M67. B: Endohyphal bacteria; CW: Fungal cell wall; LB: Fungal lipidic body; LLI: Fungal Lipid-like inclusion; M: Bacterial mesosome; MT: Fungal mitochondria. From Escudero-Leyva et al. 2025.

Fungi for the bioremoval/ bioremediation of PCBs and PFAS

Principal investigator: Dr. Priscila Chaverri. Co-principal investigator: Dr. Birthe Kjellerup (University of Maryland)

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) poster for Microbiology course at Bowie State University.

As collaborator:

U.S. National Science Foundation Environmental Data Science Innovation & Impact Lab (ESIIL) Fungal Dispersal Traits working group: Advancing Fungal Dispersal Ecology through Traits and Data Harmonization (https://cu-esiil.github.io/fungal_dispersal/).
U.S. Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute. Genus-wide genomics of the biomass-degrading and plant-beneficial Trichoderma.
Coffee fungi below and aboveground: agroecological experiments for teaching and learning about fungal diversity and ecosystem function. Lead principal investigator: Dr. Laura 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).

Past research projects

As principal or co-principal investigator:

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).
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.
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.