Our Team

Alija Bajro Mujic, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator 

I am broadly interested in the systematics, evolutionary biology, and ecology of fungi, as well as mutualistic relationships between fungi and plants. Specifically, I am fascinated by ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbioses and their influence on plant establishment, forest community structure, and ecosystem stability. I've recently been interested in identifying novel fungal secondary metabolites and their biomedical applications. My computer science training expands my research's breadth by enabling me to incorporate computational data analysis methods, such as comparative genomics and transcriptomics.

Current Students

Cynthia Sanchez

Graduate Student

Cynthia began her journey to the fungi side when she was met with a real-life collection of an entomopathogenic species by her lab mate Chris Bivins. Fascinated with fungi parasitizing insects, her work compares novel isolates to previously known species in the phylogeny of Cordycipitaceae. As well as to determine the systematic placement of the novel species using genetic sequences such as LSU, SSU., etc. She is interested in the phylogenetic relationships in Cordyceps sensu lato species. Also, to help understand fungal diversity in oak woodland habitats of understudied Sierra Nevada foothills. 


Cynthia loves to explore trails and hillsides for mushrooms. She loves to go to National Parks for beautiful sights, hikes, and views with her partner. Her hobbies include running, traveling, reading, hiking, mushroom hunting, and learning new things.



Danielle Sublett

Graduate Student

Danielle began her education in the arts, working as a wedding photographer and graphic designer for several years in San Diego. As she spent more of her free time hiking, she decided to make a change and pursue biology at Fresno State. After taking a course in field botany as an undergraduate, her love for fieldwork and fungi grew. As a Master’s student in the Mujic lab, Danielle’s research focuses on fungi's evolutionary ecological relationships. She is interested in how fungi serve integral roles in forest ecosystems via ectomycorrhizal associations, how mycorrhizal fungi evolve with their tree symbionts, and how these fungi occupy ecological niches. Additionally, she is interested in how specialist adaptations in these fungi may lead to speciation and taxonomic shifts. Her thesis project aims to develop a phylogeny of Cortinarius species in the oak woodland habitats of the Sierra Nevada foothills. Danielle is also passionate about biodiversity conservation. She hopes her research will highlight the prominence of fungi within the understudied foothill habitats and aid in conservation efforts. When she is not out mushroom hunting, Danielle’s hobbies include gardening, yoga and pilates, cooking, painting, and exploring the outdoors with her chocolate Labrador retriever.

Juhan Chung

Graduate Student

Juhan's project is to study the phylogenetic relationship between Psathyrella, Tubaria, and Panaeolus foenescii under the same order, Agaricales. He focuses on the horizontal gene transfer and antibiotic-producing genes of the three genera. The three genera showed antibiotic activities from Maryam Fallahzadeh’s project, a former graduate student in the Mujic lab.  Besides his educational background,  Juhan likes many things: His favorite movie is District 9, the singer Michael Jackson, soccer, baseball, and basketball, and his favorite food may be sushi. Coriander is the food he can’t eat because it tastes like soap to him. These days, he started drinking Caramel Frappuccino in Starbucks.

Undergraduate Students


Alumni

Christopher Bivins

Graduate Student

Chris is deeply interested in the evolution of symbiotic relationships shared between plants and fungi. His fascination with this topic began as an undergraduate at San Francisco State University, where he majored in botany and had the opportunity to study mycology with Dr. Dennis Desjardin. As a master’s student in the Mujic lab at Fresno State, Chris's project focused on investigating the symbiotic relationship between the ectomycorrhizal fungus Tomentella fuscocinerea and the fully mycoheterotrophic orchid, Corallorhiza striata. Chris had the opportunity to survey and map out several different species of mycoheterotrophic plants in the Sierra National Forest during his master’s degree as well. On the side, he worked on cataloging the fungal biodiversity of the Fresno/Madera county regions on iNaturalist, where he focused particularly on the Sierra Nevada foothill habitat. Check out the Fresno/Madera Foothills Mycoflora project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/fresno-madera-foothills-mycoflora

Emeline Pano

Graduate Student

Her work focuses on two evolutionary sister species from the ectomycorrhizal truffle-forming genus Rhizopogon. Along with being very closely related, both are restricted to only forming a symbiotic relationship with the conifer species Pseudotsuga menziesii. As a sympatric species, studies have shown both species have different ecological strategies and development to colonize new roots while coexisting on the same tree. Emeline is interested in understanding interspecific DNA methylation patterns and regionally if methylation differs between populations and species. Her approach utilizes next-generation sequencing, gene expression analysis, and bioinformatic tools. Her thesis work inspired her future Ph.D. research to be from an evolutionary perspective. She is interested in the drivers of plant speciation in flowering plants. She hopes to integrate the evolution of morphological traits, such as floral anatomy/architecture, into her research. She aspires to become a research professor and return to Fresno State or conduct botanical research for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in DC.


Emeline is from Fresno, CA,  located in the traditional homelands of the Yokuts and Mono peoples, whose diverse tribal communities share stewardship over this land. When she’s not park-skating on quads, she loves reading fantasy 🧚. She will likely have a boba in her hand if you see her.

Ana Chavez

Undergraduate Student

Ana joined the Mujic lab as a Fresno State R.I.S.E. Scholar (Research Training Initiative for Scientific Enhancement). While at Fresno State, Ana served as the SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) Chapter President. She worked alongside Emeline investigating ectomycorrhizal fungi and plant symbionts, DNA methylation patterns, and analyzing diverse fungal bioassay cultures and potential contaminants.


Maryam Fallahzadeh

Graduate Student

Maryam's research focused on the antibacterial activity of medicinal fungi against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The biochemical potential of fungal species is poorly characterized, even among the known species of fungi. Thus more studies on fungi could lead to a higher chance of antibacterial compound discovery. Maryam assayed the antibacterial activity of 18 cultures of macrofungal species isolated from microbially species-rich environments against both antibiotic-resistant and non-resistant bacteria. Our methods included co-culture assays and Kirby Bauer assays of fungal extracts.

Thelmayln Montenegro

Graduate Student

Thelmalyn is genuinely interested in studying microbes, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, and fungi, as well as the phylogenetics, systematics, taxonomy, and evolution of these biological entities. As an undergraduate researcher at San Diego State University, she determined how the phage-encoded diphtheria toxin gene influences the evolution of novel human pathogens. This research has influenced her interest in bioinformatics. As a Biology master's student in the Mujic lab at Fresno State, she is reevaluating the evolutionary history of the Rhizopogon genus using modern molecular techniques. Her thesis project inspired her broad research interests, which led her to apply to Ph.D. microbiology, plant pathology, or bioinformatics programs. She hopes to pursue a career in research and teaching because she is interested in analyzing how microbes, specifically archaea, survive in a particular environment. Aside from research, her hobbies include singing, listening to music, dancing, cooking, and studying calendars/dates.



Interested in joining our research team?