Assist.-Prof. Dr. Mark Anthony

Mark Anthony’s research focuses on the ecology and evolution of fungi. By employing genomic tools to characterize the composition, diversity, and functioning of fungal communities, Mark and his group investigate how the forest mycobiome drives emergent forest functions, like forest productivity and soil carbon storage.

They also explore how soil fungi respond to ongoing environmental change, from invasive species to global warming. Recent work has encompassed multiple trophic levels, examining interactions among fungi, prokaryotes, plants, and animals. Current studies focus on the roles of mycorrhizal fungi in shaping tree responses to climate change, the functioning of common mycorrhizal fungal networks, the ecology of fungal endophytes, and microbiome engineering to manipulate plant growth, reproduction, and death. Mark was recently awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Ambizione Fellowship and a WWTF Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators grant.