CMS Meeting – May 19, 2021
- When: Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at 7:00 pm
- Where: Online Event – CMS YouTube Channel (click to set a reminder)
For our last public meeting of the 2020/2021 season we are going to learn something new! This month’s presentation is about Laboulbeniales, an order of Fungi within the class Laboulbeniomycetes. They are also known by the common name of beetle hangers. The order includes around 2,325 species of obligate insect ectoparasites that produce cellular thalli from two-celled ascospores; hopefully, by the end of the talk you will know what this means. Laboulbeniales typically do not kill their hosts, although they may impair host fitness if the parasite density is high. Our speaker has been studying Laboulbeniales and has the scoop on their biology, ecology, and potential as environmental health indicators.
About the Speaker
Dr Patricia Kaishian is a Mycologist and postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University, where she serves as a curator of the Arthur Fungarium and Kriebel Herbarium. She is a fungal taxonomist, who classifies, names, describes, and generally cherishes fungi. Dr. Kaishian received her PhD in Mycology from SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry in Syracuse, NY, in 2020. Her dissertation was focused on the taxonomy and ecology of Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota). She has continued her research on this group, while also researching the plant pathogenic Rust fungi at Purdue.
Patty is broadly trained in fungal biodiversity, with expertise spanning macro and micro fungal groups, and and has substantial experience working in a variety of habitats around the world. Beyond more traditional scientific work, Patricia also works in the realms of philosophy of science, feminist bioscience, ecofeminism and queer theory, exploring how mycology and other scientific disciplines are situated in and informed by our sociopolitical landscape. Her publication, The science underground: mycology as a queer discipline, appears in journal Catalyst: Feminism, Theory & Technoscience.
