ORONO — World-renowned College of Maine scientist Joyce Longcore obtained the 2022 Distinguished Mycologist Award, one of many highest honors granted by the Mycological Society of America.
The annual award acknowledges scientists with distinguished careers in mycology analysis or service within the discipline, in accordance with the nationwide group.
Longcore has spent many years learning varied species of microscopic, aquatic fungi from a gaggle known as Chytridiomycota, also called chytrids. She isolates them into pure tradition, examines their developmental morphology with a light-weight microscope, collaborates with colleagues to establish their molecular traits and characterizes their taxonomy.
In 1997, Longcore investigated contaminated tissue from a blue poison dart frog despatched by pathologists from the Smithsonian Nationwide Zoo in Washington, D.C. and was capable of isolate a chytrid pathogen from that tissue into pure tradition. This work led Longcore and her colleagues to explain the chytrid that’s accountable for widespread amphibian die-offs worldwide.
Longcore beforehand maintained a frozen tradition assortment of lots of of chytrids, which is now housed on the Assortment of Zoosporic Eufungi on the College of Michigan, the place she earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology.
For her analysis, the American Affiliation for the Development of Science elected Longcore as an AAAS Fellow in 2012 and in 2017, awarded her, in addition to her colleagues from the Smithsonian Nationwide Museum, the Golden Goose Award, which acknowledges folks doing federally funded analysis who’ve made surprising and unbelievable scientific breakthroughs. In 2003, Longcore obtained the Maryann Hartman Award, introduced by what’s now the Girls, Gender and Sexuality Research Program to honor Maine girls who made inspirational achievements.
Study extra about Longcore’s background and accomplishments on-line.
