Lab Team

• Curator of the International Culture Collection of Glomeromycota 

• Bachelor's degree in Biology - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) (1987-1991)

• Ph.D. in Genetics and Developmental Biology - West Virginia University (WVU, Morgantown, WV, USA) (1994-1998)

• Post-doc at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (1999-2000)

• Professor at the Departamento de Ciências Naturais at FURB (2000-present)

• Sabbatical - University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA (2017-2018)

Sidney's Page - here is the full story !

From an early age, the observation of living beings arouses immense investigative curiosity in me. I am interested in the science of phylogenetic systematics, and when I started Biological Sciences as undergraduate student at FURB in 2008, I was determined to study more deeply the phylogeny of some group of organisms. I got to know and started to study arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in May 2009, with an assistantship for scientific initiation. I have an undergraduate major in Biological Sciences (FURB) and Master in Soil Science (UFLA), and I work in research with an emphasis on diversity, cultivation and taxonomy of AMF. I like to travel, take long walks contemplating landscapes and their components, and to rest on the rocky shores of the beautiful beaches of Santa Catarina. I also like scientific literature and some subgenres of speculative fiction. My musical taste is very diversified, however, traditional music (e.g. German folk music and nativist music), medieval music, polka, schlager, some rock and "brega" deserve special mention. I also appreciate taking the time to taste good food (e.g. hackepeter, rollmops) and good drink (e.g. bier, schnaps), alone (when I assume my hermit alter ego), or in good company.

e-mail: kemmelmeier.k@gmail.com 

I started a degree in Agronomy at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in 2018 and I developed an interest in the area of ​​Soil Biology and Ecology. The following year, I started as a Scientific Initiation Scholarship Holder at the Ecology laboratory, where I studied the influence of tree species on the diversity of soil fauna in agroforestry systems (SAFs). In the same year, I also started projects involving the characterization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and nematodes in several areas such as native and exotic forest plantations, areas under restoration, agricultural areas and SAFs. These studies lasted throughout all five years of my undergraduation and allowed me additional experiences in different laboratories at the University, such as Plant Anatomy, Genetics and Forest Resources. Having already decided that I would pursue studies involving AMF, I carried out a brief project involving co-inoculation of bacteria and AMF in the Microbiology laboratory. Finally, I finished my degree with an internship at a company that produces biological fertilizers and it is pioneer in Natural Agriculture in Brazil. Currently, I am purchasing a Master's degree in Biodiversity, at Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB), and my research project is on mycorrhizal traits of the Claroideoglomeraceae family. The continuity in my studies was due to the admiration of the academic world and the dream of one day being able to teach on topics that I learned (and still learning), involving Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Outside the academic world, I seek to perfect the habit of reading, Colleen Hoover being one of my favorite authors!

e-mail: lidia.klestadt@gmail.com

I am an undergraduate student in Biological Sciences at the Regional University of Blumenau – FURB. Currently, I am a Scientific Initiation Scholarship holder (PIBIC/FURB) at the Mycorrhiza Laboratory, where I am developing an experiment to analyze the effects of different nitrogen levels on some species of mycorrhizal fungi. Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by observing plants and animals. In 2019, when I was in eighth grade, I decided to pursue a career in biology. My opportunity to work in the laboratory came after discussing my interest in botany with my biology teacher in the third year at the Technical School of the Vale do Itajaí – ETEVI. When I started my undergraduate studies in 2024, I was introduced to a different area of biology – Mycology – through the research scholarship. I enjoy reading fantasy fiction, playing board games, learning languages, traveling, hiking, and being in contact with nature. Working with the laboratory team and always learning new things through research have been very rewarding experiences.

e-mail: pkuchenbecker@furb.br