Dr Anna Bazzicalupo

I am a Research Leader in the Comparative Fungal Biology group in the Trait Diversity and Function priority at Kew Gardens. My research focus is on evolution and local adaptation in fungi.

I completed my undergraduate studies in Biology at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) and then proceeded to study for my MSc in Taxonomy and Diversity of Plants at the RBG Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). I worked as a Research Assistant in Imke Schmitt’s lab at Senckenberg (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) where I studied if the two sections (ITS1 and ITS2) of the fungal DNA barcode differ in community analysis. I completed (2018) my Ph.D. in Mary Berbee’s lab at the University of British Columbia, where I worked on mushroom species delimitation in the genus Russula, fungal morphology, and fungal biogeography. I was also interested in trying to find signatures of sexual selection on the mating type chromosomes of the castrating anther-smut fungus.

After my Ph.D., I was postdoc at Montana State University (2018-2020) in Sara Branco’s lab on identifying the genes underlying metal tolerance in ectomycorrhizal fungus Suillus luteus found on heavily polluted soils and studying the fungal communities of Yellowstone National Park.

As a postdoc in Sally Otto’s lab (2020-2023), I was working on experimental evolution of the budding yeast model system exposed to a variety of heavy metal environments and testing evolved lines for cross-tolerance. In 2020-21, I was also part of the Canadian Institute of Ecology and Evolution Fungal Conservation Working Group assessing the state of fungal conservation in Canada.

• B.Sc. (Hons.) in Biology, University of Aberdeen (2010)
• M.Sc. in Taxonomy and Diversity of Plants, University of Edinburgh and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2011)
• Ph.D. in Botany, University of British Columbia (2018)