ph: Valerian Meline
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Paula A. Gómez-Zapata, Ph.D.
Plant Pathologist and Mycologist.
Areas of Expertise & Interest:
Molecular biology, Plant diseases, Biocontrol, Characterization studies, Rust fungi, Fungal Genomics.
About me
About me
I’m a plant pathologist and fungal biologist who turns complex fungal problems into practical solutions. My work spans fungal plant diseases, molecular biology, fungal genomics, and bioinformatics, with a focus on plant–pathogen interactions and sustainable disease management—especially biological control.
I earned my Ph.D. in Plant Pathology at Purdue University (USA) and completed postdoctoral research at Purdue and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, investigating rust fungi from biodiversity and evolutionary perspectives. My doctoral thesis characterized beneficial fungi and insects as potential biocontrol agents of rust diseases in economically important crops and biodiversity-relevant plants—covering species diversity, host specificity, biogeography, in-vitro interactions, and greenhouse assays. Read my thesis
With international research experience and a track record in project development, I bridge fundamental science and applied R&D. I manage projects across microbiology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, data analysis, and fieldwork, and have published multiple peer-reviewed articles.
I also enjoy science communication—sharing weekly posts on LinkedIn about plant diseases, fungal biology, and parasitism. See my LinkedIn posts
I’m always open to collaboration and new ideas.
📬 paulamelinegomez(at)gmail(dot)com
Science Communication
Forbes. Science. interview
ph: Valerian Meline
Publications
Publications
Gomez-Zapata, P. A., Tellgren-Roth, C., Samils, B., Stenlid, J., Kaitera, J., Brandström Durling, M., ... & Olson, Å. (2025). Mating Type Gene Divergence is Associated with Life Cycle Differentiation in Scots Pine Blister Rust. bioRxiv, 2025-05.
Gómez-Zapata, P. A., Johnson, M. A., Bonacci, T., & Aime, M. C. (2024). Phylogeny, biogeography, and host range of gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) feeding on spores of rust fungi (Basidiomycota: Pucciniales). Journal of Insect Science, 24(4), 18.
Gómez-Zapata, P. A., Díaz-Valderrama, J. R., Fatemi, S., Ruiz-Castro, C. O., & Aime, M. C. (2024). Characterization of the fungal genus Sphaerellopsis associated with rust fungi: species diversity, host-specificity, biogeography, and in-vitro mycoparasitic events of S. macroconidialis on the southern corn rust, Puccinia polysora. IMA fungus, 15(1), 18.
Abbasi, M., Rubio, K., Gómez-Zapata, PA., Díaz-Valderrama, J. R., & Aime, M. C. (2023). Uromyces savulescui on statice (Limonium sinuatum) in the Americas and reevaluation of its reported geographic range. Plant Disease, (ja).
Gómez-Zapata, PA, Donald D. Davis, Aime MC (2023). Rust disease caused by Uredinopsis osmundae on balsam fir, Canaan fir, white fir, and sensitive fern reported from Pennsylvania, USA. Plant Health Progress (accepted).
Gómez-Zapata PA, Smith ME, Frank MS, Aime MC (2022). First report of Pucciniastrum boehmeriae in North America, causing rust disease in bog hemp. Plant Health Progress 23 (4), 476-477. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-02-22-0016-BR .
Gómez-Zapata PA, Haelewaters D, Quijada L, Pfister DH, Aime MC (2021). Notes on Trochila (Ascomycota, Leotiomycetes), with new species and combinations. MycoKeys 78: 21-47.
Gómez-Zapata, PA, & Salazar-Yepes, M. (2017). Camarotella colombiana sp. nov. (Phyllachoraceae) on Ceroxylon quindiuense (Arecaceae) from Colombia. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 88(2): 275-279.
Gómez-Zapata, PA, & Salazar-Yepes, M. (2014). Meliola crucifera Starbärk agente causal del mildiu negro de Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq., en Colombia. Revista De Protección Vegetal 29(3), 208-211.
ph: Valerian Meline
My Skills
My Skills
Project Leadership & Training
Led PhD project independently; supervised and trained students in molecular/microbiological methods and lab safety.
Bioinformatics and Big Data Analysis
• Fungal Genome Assembly (FatsQC, Trimmomatic, Bowtie2, Kmergenie, Spades, MaSuRCA, Quast, Reapr, BUSCO, SSPACE, GapFiller).
• Phylogenetic analyses (Sequencher, MEGA, TrimAL, IQ-TREE, CIPRES, FigTree).
• Programming (R, Python, IDL).
• SNP calling analysis.
• Familiar with several Fungal Databases (Mycocosm, Ensembl FungiDB, SGD, and CGD).
Molecular Biology
• PCR, DNA extraction, Primer Design, electrophoresis, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of fungi, familiar with Elisa and qPCR.
Protocol Development & Validation
Developed and optimized DNA extraction protocols for challenging and historic fungal samples (> 100 years old), improved PCR workflows, and established inoculation assays fulfilling Koch’s postulates for pathogen confirmation.
Applied Plant Science
• Experimental design in greenhouse assays working with fungal obligate biotrophs.
• Interaction tests for potential fungal biocontrol agents.
• Inoculations of obligate fungi in the greenhouse.
• Fieldwork experience collecting rust fungi in Africa, North America, and South America.
Microbiology
• Pure culturing fungi.
• Identification and characterization of fungal species.
• Expertise in Microscopy.
International Collaboration
Research experience across the Americas and Europe; effective cross-cultural communication in English, Spanish, Portuguese; Dutch beginner.
My strengths
My strengths
Achiever "People exceptionally talented in the Achiever theme work hard and possess a great deal of stamina. They take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive."
Deliberative "People exceptionally talented in the deliberative them are best described by the serious care they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate obstacles."
Context "People exceptionally talented in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history ."
Learner "People exceptionally talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them."
Intellection "People exceptionally talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions."
Clifton Strengths
ph: Valerian Meline
Research presentations
Research presentations
IMC12. Investigating The Lifecycle Switch In Cronartium pini Through Population Genomic Analysis. August 2024. Poster
IOBC 2023. Characterization of the fungal genus Sphaerellopsis, a potential microbial biocontrol agent of rust fungi. June 2023. Oral presentation
MASMC 2023. The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Characterization of Sphaerellopsis, a mycoparasite of rust fungi. April 2023. Oral presentation
XXVI International Congress of Entomology. Mycodiplosis, fly larvae feeding on rust fungi. Species diversity, geographic distribution, and rust host-specificity. July 2022. Oral presentation
Community Platform for Agricultural Sciences COMPASS. Hyperparasites of rust fungi at the rust collections of the Arthur Fungarium: species diversity, host-specificity, and geographic distribution. June 2021. Oral presentation
APS. Annual Meeting Plant Health. Mycoparasitism and Host-specificity of Sphaerellopsis on Rust fungi. August 2019. Poster
11th International Mycological Congress. Parasites of Rust Fungi from South America. July 2018. Poster
Mycological Society of America. Hyperparasites attacking rust fungi: Species and Distribution. June 2017. Poster
Latin American Mycological Congress. Pucciniastrum (Pucciniales), a new genus reported in Colombia. November 2014. Poster
60th Annual Meeting of the Interamerican Society of Tropical Horticulture & V Colombian meeting of Horticulture. Potential dispersion of the Black Sigatoka disease by the wind in Uraba, Colombia. September 2014.Poster
National Colombian Congress of Plant Pathology. Leaf galls, a new disease on the wax palm Ceroxylon quindiuense (H. Karst) H. Wendl, in Colombia. September 2013. Oral presentation
National Colombian Congress of Plant Pathology. Black mildew on the mamoncillo fruit in Antioquia. September 2013. Poster.
Teliosorus of rust collected in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique (March 2023)
ph: Paula A. Gomez-Zapata
Awards
Awards
2022 Outstanding Ph.D. student | Botany and Plant Pathology Department, Purdue University.
2011 -2014 Outstanding undergraduate student. Exception full tuition | National University of Colombia.
Workshops
Workshops
Fungal Pathogens Genomics Workshop, May 2023. Happy to attend the FPG workshop in Wellcome Genomc Campus, Hinxton, UK, to learn about fungal databases and their tools for genomic analyses.
Telia and basidia on rust collected in National Park Gorongosa, Mozambique (March 2023)
ph: Paula A. Gomez-Zapata
Curriculum vitae
Curriculum vitae
Upon Request
Contact me!
Contact me!
paulamelinegomez(at)gmail.com
paula.gomez.zapata@slu.se
Bluesky: @gomezpa.bsky.social
Pear Rust (Gymnosporangium) Utrecht, Netherlands Sept. 2025
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