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Dr. Jason Hoeksema, Assistant Professor

Jason's research, and research in the Hoeksema Lab, addresses questions regarding the ecological and evolutionary impacts of species interactions (such as mutualism, parasitism and competition) on populations and communities, with a focus on interactions between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. A list of publications that represent Jason's work can be found here. Jason teaches courses in ecology, evolution, statistics, microbiology (BISC 210), mycology (BISC 502). He also occasionally leads mushroom field trips for the public--check out this video from a foray at the nearby Strawberry Plains Audubon Center: link.

 

Research Associates

Tiffany Bensen, Ph.D.

Tiffany is interested in multi-trophic interactions involving plants and below- and above-ground organisms, especially within the context of sustainable agricultural systems.  Publications of Tiffany's work can be found here. Additionally, Tiffany teaches human biology (BISC 102) and ecology and the environment (BISC 104) for non-biology majors at Ole Miss.

 

Graduate Students

Anjel Craig

As a graduate research fellow in the USDA Forest Restoration graduate training program, Anjel is working in the diverse upland forests of northern Mississippi to test the impact of forest restoration treatments on the community structure of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Find a copy of Anjel's CV here.

 

Kris Hennig

Kris is investigating how mycorrhizal networks between forest trees influence plant-plant interactions and succession in forests.

 

 

Bridget Piculell

Bridget is using a common garden experiment with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) clones and ectomycorrhizal fungi to explore the coevolutionary consequences of genetic correlations among complex plant traits, including mycorrhizal and disease resistance traits. Bridget's undergraduate honors thesis from John Thompson's lab at the University of California, Santa Cruz, was published in BMC Biology in 2008 (link).

 

Frequent Lab Visitors and Collaborators

Michael G. Booth

Our collaborations with Michael include testing the influence of mycorrhizal networks on plant-plant interactions in forests, elucidating the importance for plants of functional diversity among ectomycorrhizal fungal species, and characterizing soil fungal communities using a meta-genomics approach. Michael teaches at Principia College and is also a research scientist at the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

 

Undergraduate Students

Buki Alabi is working on an independent project, developing a software program in Java designed to perform and graphically illustrate statistical randomization tests.

Justin Murphy assists with all aspects of research in the lab, including field data collection, maintenance of lab experiments, and molecular bench work.

T.C. Unigwe assists with all aspects of research in the lab, and as an NIH Summer Undergraduate Intern in Natural Products Neuroscience, he is focusing on extracting secondary chemicals from mycorrhizal fungi, for potential use as therapeutic agents.