Teaching & Mentoring

Briana Beatty, one of my former mentees, conducting a field sampling

It is a blast for me to teach and train the next generation of scientists. Having mentored over ten undergraduate and graduate students, my teaching and training extend to roles at Lund University. Here, I instruct in terrestrial ecology, highlighting mycorrhizal fungi in field classes, and bioinformatics, concentrating on fungal genomics. As a microbial ecologist and microbiologist, I emphasize the importance of viewing theories and data from various disciplines holistically. I advocate for interdisciplinarity within biology to connect across areas, theories, and concepts. I also stress the development of critical thinking in my teaching and mentoring activities to show students how to recognize and address our human biases to improve the way we discuss science and conduct research. Finally, as a first-generation college student, I go beyond imparting knowledge and skills; I aim to assist students from underrepresented backgrounds in navigating the unique challenges of academia to reach their career goals.