Meet the IMS Executive

Dr. Tom Bruns, UC Berkeley USA
Dr. Tom Bruns, UC Berkeley USAPresident
Professor Department of Plant and Microbial Biology

Research and Interests include:
• fungal ecology and systematics
• ectomycorrhizal community ecology, spore banks, and epiparasitic plants
• development of widely used molecular methods.
• past-president of the Mycological Society of America.
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the California Academy of Science, and the Mycological Society of America.
• distinguished teaching awards from the College of Natural Resources and the Mycological Society of America.

Dr. Francis Martin, ARBRE, France
Dr. Francis Martin, ARBRE, FranceVice President
Senior Scientist Lab of Excellence ARBRE.

Research and Interests include:
• INRA Laurel Wreath for Excellence for research on tree-microbe interactions and fungal genomics.
• how soil microorganisms drive forest ecosystems through their roles in important soil processes including decomposition and nutrient turnover as well as carbon sequestration.
• interatction of ectomycorrhizal fungi and symbiotic associations with the roots of forest trees
• large-scale comparative genomics of symbiotic, saprotrophic and pathogenic fungi (with U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute)
• leads Mycorrhizal Genomics Initiative aiming to identify the genomic features involved in the various mycorrhizal symbiosis.
• metagenomics and metatranscriptomics projects exploring interactions of forest trees with communities of soil fungi impacting carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems.

Dr. Luisa Lanfranco, University of Torino, Italy
Dr. Luisa Lanfranco, University of Torino, ItalySecretary
Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology

Research and Interests Include:

• molecular mechanisms at the basis of the plant-fungus interaction in the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis.
• genetic diversity of AM fungi and their endosymbiotic bacteria
• mechanisms controlling nutrient uptake and morphogenetic processes in the fungal partner
• systemic effect of the AM symbiosis with emphasis on plant responses to pathogen attacks.

Dr. Miranda Hart, UBCO Canada
Dr. Miranda Hart, UBCO CanadaTreasurer
Assistant Professor, Biology

Research and Interests include:
• use of microbes in sustainable agrosystems and restoration
• community ecology of arbuscular mycorrhizas in undisturbed, natural systems.
• Associate Editor for two peer-reviewed journals and has
• served on the NSERC Scholarships and Fellowships panel (Ecology) (2013-15