Why a Collection of Dead Fungi Matters

In this episode, Dr. Lisa Castlebury, Research Mycologist and Leader of the Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory with the USDA ARS and Director of the U.S. National Fungus Collections, joins host Matt Kasson to discuss her long career with the U.S.D.A. A.R.S. and her lab’s role in identifying foreign and domestic plant pathogenic fungi and managing over a million accessions housed in the U.S. National Fungus Collections. She also reflects on her early experiences growing up in Illinois and being part of some of the earliest fungal DNA-based studies in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Show notes USDA ARS Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory official website: https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-barc/beltsville-agricultural-research-center/mycology-and-nematology-genetic-diversity-and-biology-laboratory/ USDA ARS Employee Profile: Lisa Castlebury : USDA ARS Dr. Lisa Castlebury’s Google Scholar profile: ‪Lisa A. Castlebury - ‪Google Scholar This episode is produced by Association Briefings.Special Guest: Lisa Castlebury.