I joined Athabasca University in 2008.I graduated from the University of Munich (LMU) in Germany where I also obtained my doctoral degree (Dr.rer.nat.) in biology. My Master’s thesis was on the ontogeny of the genus Mycena and my doctoral thesis on the ectomycorrhizae of Berchtesgaden National Park.After postdoctoral studies at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg (USA) I returned to Munich to work at the Institute of Systematic Botany and later joined the International Mycological Institute (CAB International) in Egham, UK. Before coming to Canada I spent six years in Papua New Guinea, teaching biology at the University of Goroka.My research interests are centered on mushrooms and fungi, their ecology, diversity and how they are used by humans.