Principal Investigator
Nicole Hynson
Professor
Office: 207 IAAB
[Click for my CV] [Google Scholar]
email: nhynson [at] hawaii [dot] edu
I received my Ph.D in 2010 from the University of California Berkeley where I worked in the Bruns Lab. After which I was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Prof. Kathleen Treseder at the University of California Irvine.
I study the ecology of microbial communities with a focus on fungi. I employ a multifaceted approach to my research by using tools from molecular biology and physiology in a range of settings from microcosms to field sites across continents. I am enthusiastic about teaching and mentoring and have a passion for the natural world, especially fungi.
I am originally from Maui, but mostly grew up on the continent. My family has a long history on the Islands and I consider Hawaiʻi home. Some activities that I enjoy are hiking, mushroom hunting, and cooking.
Lab Manager & Postdocs
Renee Takara
Lab Manager
email: rktakara [at] hawaii [dot] edu
Hi! My name is Renee, and I was born and raised on O‘ahu. I earned my B.S. in Biology: Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation from the University of Washington in Seattle. Following graduation I took a slightly different path and worked in various clinical laboratories, obtaining my certification as a technologist in molecular biology.
However, my interests remained in environmental and conservation biology. I’m happy to have moved back home and am excited to learn more about the world of fungi and microbial ecology. In my spare time, I can be found spending time with my family and friends, going on hikes, or baking.
While fungi have a very special place in my heart, environmental microbiology as a whole is where my passion lies. My goal is to dedicate my career towards learning all I can about microbes and how they interact with the environment around them in order to aid conservation efforts here in Hawai‘i. Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending time with my family, volunteering at lo‘i and fishponds, and going to coffee shops.
Dr. Jeffrey Lackmann
Postdoc
email: lackmann [at] hawaii [dot] edu
Hi, my name is Jeffrey Lackmann. I grew up on a small farm in the High Plains borderlands of Minnesota and North Dakota. I earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature from Luther College in Decorah, IA in 2018 and my Ph.D in Environmental and Conservation Science at North Dakota State University in Fargo in 2025 as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. During graduate school, I studied how fungi respond to different reforestation strategies as well as tropical fungal endophyte and saprotroph communities at coffee-forest interfaces. Broadly speaking, I want to understand what forces shape the communities of fungi that live on and in plants above and below ground. I’m also interested in leveraging airborne fungal sampling (“aerobiota”) to explore how fungi disperse over short and long distances. I’m inspired by the quiet miracle that nature is knowable. Outside of the lab I enjoy writing, fishing, running, cooking, bluegrass music, and foraging.
Graduate Students
Allie Hall
PhD Student
email: alliej [at] hawaii [dot] edu
Aloha! Allie here, and I meet fungi in the wilderness. I consider myself nomadic by nature and have called many places on this beautiful planet home. In 2019, I received my B.S. from the University of Colorado in Biology, emphasis in Biochemistry. I worked under Dr. Meghan Lybecker as an undergrad and post-bacc researcher investigating mechanisms of sRNA and RNA-chaperone regulations in bacterial pathogens. Later, I was awarded an ORISE Fellowship to continue research at the CDC. I joined Dr. Hynson’s Lab Fall of 2022 to pursue my PhD in Botany focusing in fungal, microbial, and molecular ecology. Research interests include plant and fungi microbiomes, distance-decay relationships of microbiomes, fungi-plant co-invasions, fungal symbiosis, and evolution of microbes influenced by major disturbances. Outside of academia you could say I’m an amateur poet, backcountry backpacker, free-diver, surfer, and rock climber.
Michael A.P. Fernandez
PhD Student
email: mapfern [at] hawaii [dot] edu
Aloha yan håfa adai, I’m Michael! I was born and raised on the island of Guam, all the way on the western side of the Pacific. I earned my B.S. in Integrative Biology at the University of Guam, where I studied the mycorrhizal associations of Guam’s native, epiphytic orchids and conducted genetic research on the island’s endangered plant species under Drs. Marutani and McConnell. During my undergrad, I also had several, amazing opportunities to join research projects in conservation biology, invasion ecology, and next-generation DNA sequencing in the US and Japan. This Fall 2024, I’ll be joining Dr. Hynson’s Lab to pursue my PhD in Botany and explore my passion for studying the ecology and evolution of mycorrhiza here in the Pacific islands. When I’m not doing research, you can find me spending time with family, gardening at home, or taking photos of plants or food. I’m excited to be making the move to Oahu and hope to call it my home away from home!
Undergraduate Students
Zane Aoki
Undergraduate Researcher
email: zanea333[at] hawaii [dot] edu