The Smyth Mycology lab is an undergraduate research lab at Binghamton University focused on fungal taxonomy, diversity, ecology and evolution. We have wide-ranging interests, and projects, that focus on fungi from everything from insect galls to salt marshes and marine ecosystems. See below to learn more about the researchers in our lab, and their areas of interest.
Julian Marshall is a senior biology major at Binghamton University. He is currently studying fungal saprophytes associated with Spartina alterniflora salt marshes on the East Coast of the United States. He has also worked in the plant pathology lab at The Morton Arboretum, studying Fusarium oxysporum infections in Gro-Low Sumac. Julian is most interested in fungal mutualisms in nature and hopes to work in the field of chemical ecology studying these relationships. Outside of the lab, Julian can most often be found in the woods, birding, hunting for fungi, and drawing.
Giavanna Corrao is a senior at Binghamton University, graduating summer of 2025 with a Bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. Inspired by many of her biology and ecology classes at Binghamton, she hopes to pursue a career that focuses on both research and field work in the future. She enjoys being outdoors and is often found volunteering in Binghamton’s nature preserve. Her work with Dr. Smyth has focused on describing novel species of fungi found in a newly emergent salt marsh in coastal Virginia.
Emma Magnuson is a senior at Binghamton University with a major in biological sciences and a minor in environmental studies. She wants to pursue a career in conservation biology with a focus on field-based research. She is mainly interested in topics related to marine biology and other aquatic ecosystems. In her spare time, she enjoys being in an outdoor setting and is particularly fond of the beach. Her past work includes research on water quality in the Binghamton area as well as habitat preferences of salt marsh periwinkles. Her work in the Smyth lab revolves around insect gall fungal diversity in the oak gall wasp Kokkocynips rileyi. Specifically, she is working on describing a putative new species in the genus Diaporthe from this study system.
Rachel Pitt is a second-year student at Binghamton University majoring in biological sciences with a minor in evolutionary studies. She loves the outdoors and enjoys going for hikes in the nature preserve. In the Smyth lab she’s studying insect gall associated fungi in the oak gall wasp, Kokkocynips rileyi. Her past work includes research on plant-herbivore interactions as well as speciation in Mimulus. Rachel wants to pursue a career in research that allows for both field and lab work.
Jacob Hood is a senior at Binghamton University, graduating in the spring of 2025 with a Bachelors degree in Biology and a minor in history. His studies have focused on ecology and environmental studies, with his recent research focusing on marine melanized fungi. Jacob has experience working in biology labs, and has developed his field skills during his time at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station, where he took six weeks of Marine Biology and Coastal and Marine Mycology intensive field courses. His research in the Smyth lab revolves around characterizing the physiology of marine melanized yeasts isolated during Coastal and Marine Mycology from various marine organisms, such as seahorses and filefish.
Smyth Mycology 