Seminars and Presentations

Examples of Invited Seminars

Mycobiomes: Targeting Isolations of Microbial Dark Matter, The Microbiome Center, Penn State University

Keynote Speaker: Building a Successful Career Through Networking and Mentoring, Fifth Annual Graduate Conference, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL.

The Dark Side of Roots: Fungal Symbionts and their Role on Plant Growth and Survival, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.

Invited symposium speaker at ICPP- International Congress of Plant Pathology Symposium, Boston, USA.

Invited symposium speaker at IMC11- International Congress of Mycology Symposium, San Juan Puerto Rico,

Invited Speaker, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Revealing the Hidden World of Fungal Symbionts in Extreme Environments. University of California, Berkeley, USA.

A New Paradigm of Fungal-Plant Interactions in Arid Ecosystems. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico, USA.

Microbiomas de Plantas: Retos y Oportunidades para la Agricultura (Plant Microbiomes: Challenges and Opportunities in Agriculture). Earth University, Guácimo, Costa Rica.

White Nose Syndrome: A Deadly Pathogen among Bats. 29th Bald Eagle Appreciation Days, Keokuk, Iowa, USA.

ITS Fungal Naïve Bayesian Classifier (RDP). ITS Fungal Meeting, Denver, CO, USA.

White Nose Syndrome: A Perspective from Fungal Cave Ecology. INHS-University of Illinois, Champaing-Urbana, IL, USA.

Fungal Biodiversity and Functional Ecology. INDICASAT-NSF, Gamboa, Panama.

Micobiomas en Vainilla: Diversidad, Potencial de uso y Nuevas Herramientas para su Estudio (Mycobiomes in Vanilla: Diversity, Potential Applications and New Tools). Escuela de Postgraduados, Texcoco, Mexico.

Examples of Presentations at National and International Conferences

(More than 150 presentations with students at regional, national, and international conferences)

Billingsley Tobias, T., Gooch M., Phippen W., Dunlap C., Porras Alfaro, A. The effect of Fungicide on root and leaf associated fungi in glycine. Rhizosphere 5, Saskatchewan, Canada, July, 2019.

Romero-Jimenez M.J. Jumpponen A., Rudgers J., Porras-Alfaro A. Effect of Darksidea species on Bouteloua gracilis: An overview of the mutualism-parasitism continuum. Rhizosphere 5, Saskatchewan, Canada, July, 2019.

Hamm P., Ojha S., Dunbar J., Kuske C, Porras-Alfaro A. The Role of Rhizosphere and Endophytic Fungal Volatiles on Plant Growth. Mycological Society of America, Athens, GA, USA, July 2017.

Tobias Billingsley T. Hunt JR, Viadero R.C., Miller Hunt C., Porras-Alfaro A. Yeast diversity in an Urban Stream and its Impact on Mosquito Populations, Mycological Society of America, Athens, GA, USA, July 2017.

Porras-Alfaro A., Edwards H., Lueschow S., Hamm P., Northup D. Prior and Post WNS: Study of Microbial Diversity and its Potential Implications. Mycological Society of America Meeting. Berkeley, California, USA, July 2016.

Torres-Cruz T., Tobias T.B., Almatruk M., Hesse C., Desiro A., Benicci G.M., Bonito G., Stajich J., Dunlap C., Kuske C.K., Porras-Alfaro A. Discovery of a Novel Taxon within Mucoromycotina. Mycological Society of America Meeting, Berkeley, California, USA, July 2016.

Porras-Alfaro A., Sandona K., Tobias T. Thermophilic Fungi in Corn Grain: Potential Implications on Grain Quality and Human Health. Mycological Society of America, Edmonton, Canada, July 2015.

Wang Q., Chai B., Deshpande V., Greenfield P., Charleston M., Porras-Alfaro A., Kuske C.R., Tran-Dinh N., Midgley D., Tiedje J.M., Cole J.R. Fungal Resources at RDP. 6th Annual Argonne Soil Metagenomics Meeting, Chicago, IL, USA, Oct 2014.

Northup D.E., Caimi N.A., Porras-Alfaro A., Kooser A.S., Buecher D.C., Young J.M., Kimble J.C., Hughes K.J., Valdez E.W. Testing of Actinobacteria Isolated from Twelve Western Bat Species Against Pseudogymnoascus destructans: Clues to Potential Bat Natural Defenses. WNS Workshop, St Louis, MO, USA, Sept 2014.

Lueschow S., Lynnaun J., Williams T., Porras-Alfaro A. Characterization of P. destructans and other Geomyces Isolates LSMCE Conference, Chicago, IL, USA, Oct 2013.

Tejeda-Cervantes A.G., Casillas-Isiordia R., Montaño-Fijar R., Ramírez-Guerrero L.G., Gónzalez-Chávez M.C., Carrillo-Gónzalez R., Porras-Alfaro A., Bayman P. Aislamiento de Hongos de Raíces de Vanilla Cultivada y Silvestre en México. I Seminario Internacional de Vainilla, Heredia, Costa Rica, Nov 2013.

Hamm P., Tobias T., Sandona K., Belnap J., Kuske C.R., Porras-Alfaro A. A Study of Diversity and Abundance of Desert Keratinophilic Fungi. 82th Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of America, East Lansing, Michigan, USA, June 2014.

Deaver N., Porras-Alfaro A., McCravy K., Kuske C.R. A Survey of Entomopathogenic Fungi from a Temperate Forest Soil. 82th Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of America, East Lansing, Michigan, USA, June 2014.

Porras-Alfaro A., Tobias T., Sandona K.P., Liu K.L., Xie G., Kuske C. 2013. Characterization of LSU and ITS rDNA for Automated Fungal Classification. APS-MSA Meeting, Austin, TX, USA, August 2013.

Porras-Alfaro A., Hicks S.L., Tuter J., Tobias T., Sandona K.P., Natvig D.O., Sinsabaugh R.L, Mussser R., Hum-Musser S. 2013. Root mycobiomes: Diversity and Plant-Host Interactions in Extreme Environments. APS-MSA Meeting, Austin, TX, USA, August 2013.

Raghavan S., Tobias T., Lowrey T., Garcia M., Porras-Alfaro A. Potential Roles of Gypsophilic Fungal Endophytes at the Sevilleta LTER. LTER All Scientist Meeting in Estes Park, CO, USA, Sept 2012.

Porras-Alfaro A., Natvig D.O., Sinsabaugh R., Herrera J. Soil and Endophytic Fungal Associations with Grama at the Sevilleta LTER. LTER All Scientist Meeting in Estes Park, CO, USA, Sept 2012.

Hicks S.L., Farrer E., Sinsabaugh R., Porras-Alfaro A., and Suding K.N. Effect of Nitrogen Pollution on Root Fungal Endophyte Communities from two Co-Dominant Alpine Tundra Plants at Niwot, LTER. Mycological Society of America, Yale University, New Haven, USA, July 2012.

Rosales A., Tobias T., Suding K., Sinsabaugh R., and Porras-Alfaro A. Vertically Transmitted Endophytes from Plants in the Alpine Tundra. Mycological Society of America, Yale University, New Haven, USA, July 2012.

Lopez S.R., Sinsabaugh R.L., Hanson D.T., Porras-Alfaro A. Estimating Fungal Contributions to Nitrous Oxide (N2O) Emissions from Nitrogen Fertilized Grasslands using Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy. Mycological Society of America, Yale University, New Haven, USA, July 2012.