People

Laura Victoria Florez Patino  (Postdoc 2021 -) Laura studies the three-way interactions between insects, insect microbiomes, and insect pathogenic fungi.

Daniel Buchvaldt Amby (Assistant Professor 2022 -) Daniel studies the evolutioanry ecology of inter-kingdom host shifts in the fungal genus Colletotrichum.

Andrea (Andi) Wilson  (Postdoc 2024 -) Andi studies specific receptors and enzymes responsible for plant versus insect associations in root symbiotic entomopathogneic fungi.

Carolina Nogueira (Phd student 2020 -) (Co-supervised with Nicolai Meyling, Plen, University of Copenhagen). Carolina is interested in comparative and population genomic studies of Metarhizium brunneum insect pathogenic fungi.

Thea Kristensen (Phd student 2021 -) (Co-supervised with Birgit Jensen, Plen, University of Copenhagen). Thea is studying life-history transitions between commensalistic (mutualistic?) and pathogenic Colletotrichum fungi associated with citrus in Brazil.

Previous lab members

Anna Slowik (Double-degree Phd student 2020 - 2024) (Co-supervised with Steve Sait, University of Leeds, UK, and Helen Hesketh, the UK centre for ecology and hydrology, UK). Anna explored the nutritional adaptation of pathogenic fungi and how it relates to host range using fungi in the entomopathogenic genus Metarhizium.

Sam Edwards (Double-degree Phd student 2020 - 2023) (Co-supervised with Bryony Williams, University of Exeter). Sam studied the behavioral manipulation of houseflies by the insect pathogenic fungus Entomophthora muscae.

Dinah Parker (Phd student 2019 - 2023) (Co-supervised with Nicolai Meyling, Plen, University of Copenhagen) Dinah studied the evolutionary ecology of pathogen host shifts using Metarhizium insect-pathogenic fungi as a model system.

Isabella Gotti (Double-degree Phd student 2019 - 2023) (Co-supervised with Italo Delalibera Jr, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) Isabella studied the infectivity of blastospores in insect-pathogenic Metarhizium species using transcriptomic approaches.

Jinglin Zhao (Msc student 2022 - 2023) (Co-supervised with Carolina). Jinglin studied the enourmus phenotypic diversity in Metarhizium brunneum in her Master's project.

Joel da Cruz Couceiro (Double-degree Phd student 2017 - 2021) (Co-supervised with Italo Delalibera Jr, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Nicolai Meyling, Plen, University of Copenhagen) Joel explored niche adaptation and plasticity within entomopathogenic Metarhizium communities in sugar cane ecosystems.

Knud Nor Nielsen (Postdoc 2020 - 2021) Knud studied comparative genomics and transcriptomics of entomopathogenic fungi with an aim to understand host-specific adaptation and genomic capacity for host-shifts.

Andreas Naundrup Hansen (Phd student 2017 - 2021) (Co-supervised with Annette B. Jensen, Plen, University of Copenhagen) Andreas explored the chemical ecology of the obligate insect pathogenic fungus Entomophthora muscae.

Natasha Iwanicki (Double-degree Phd student 2016 - 2020) (Co-supervised with Italo Delalibera Jr, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Jørgen Eilenberg, Plen, University of Copenhagen)Natasha is exploring metamorphogenesis in two Metarhizium species using transcriptomic approaches.

Rikke Poulsen (Phd student 2016 - 2019) (Co-supervised with Nina Cedergren, Plen, University of Copenhagen) Rikke worked on trans-generational epigenetic effects of pesticide exposure using Daphnia as a model system.

Zsuzsanna Csontos (MSc student 2018 - 2019) (Co-supervised with Jonathan Z. Shik, Bio, University of Copenhagen) Zsuzsi studied the nutritional ecology and host-specificity of insect-pathogenic fungi.

Marta Montoro Caceres (Phd student 2016 - 2019) (Co-supervised with Lene Sigsgaard, PLEN, University of Copenhagen)

Marta aimed to optimize how insect predators used in biological control are reared to improve their effectiveness.

Myrsini Eirini Natsopoulou (Postdoc 2016 - 2018) Myrsini looked into genomic and epigenetic analyses of virulence evolution in Entomophthora muscae and Metarhizium spp.

Adam Nunn (MSc student) 2018 (Co-supervised with Dag Ahren, Lund University, Sweden)Adam is trying to understand the molecular mechanism behind the behavioural manipulation of “zombie”-flies by the entomopathogenic fungus Entomophthora muscae.

Rasmus Emil Jensen (MSc student) 2016 (Co-supervised with Paul Becher, SLU, Alnarp, Sweden) Rasmus studied Entomophthora muscae  infections in the invasive fruit fly Drosophila suzukii. Rasmus is now a PhD student at Aarhus University (link).

Yuan Qian (MSc student) 2021 (Co-supervised with Dinah Parker)

Yuan phenotypically characterized experimentally passaged Metarhizium acridum strains, showing distinct phenotypic changes after very few passages in a new host.

Jakob Spile (MSc student) 2016 (Co-supervised with Annette Bruun Jensen)

The white-footed ant (Technomyrmex albipes) is an unwelcome guest in the green-houses mimicking tropical forests in many zoo's and botanical gardens. Jakob explored the potential for using Metarhizium and Beauvaria insect-pathogenic fungi as a non-chemical biological control agents.

Andreas Naundrup Hansen (BSc student) 2015

Andreas developed a quantitative real-time PCR assay to monitor Entomophthora muscae infections in the housefly Musca domestica, which he used to determine how the fungus grows inside the fly during infections

Ben Conlon (MSc student) 2015 (Co-supervised with Michael Poulsen, Institute of Biology, Uni. Copenhagen)

Ben studied two termite associated fungi. One is a Cordyceps sp. nov. that infects alate fungus-growing termites where Ben obtained samples from South Africa and Kenya. The other fungus is from the genus Podaxis and has intriguingly primarily been found growing on Trinervitermes termite mounds. Ben is now a PhD student at the Martin Luther University Halle, Germany (link).

Jonathan Arnesen (BSc student) 2015

Using applied bioinformatics and comparative genomics techniques, Jonathan analyzed serine endo-peptidase subtilisins among Entomophthoralean fungi.

Oana Cheta (MSc student) 2014, (Co-supervisor)

Pepijn Kooij (MSc student) 2008, (Co-supervisor)