I am a mycologist with 8 years of experience studying the fungi of California. My research has mainly focused on fungal ecology in the Sierra Nevada mountains. During my master's degree at Fresno State, I worked with Dr. Alija Mujic on a project investigating the symbiotic relationship between ectomycorrhizal fungi and a group of non-photosynthetic plants called mycoheterotrophs. I am now a Ph.D. candidate at UC Merced where I am investigating various ecological relationships between fungi, oaks, woodrats, and Cynipid wasps in the Sierra Nevada foothill region. Throughout the course of my work I have found several undescribed species of fungi that I am also working to characterize and name.