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Dr. Matthew Smith

Associate Professor

Matthew Smith

Contact:

Phone: (352) 273-2837
Email: trufflesmith@ufl.edu
Office: Rm. #2527, Fifield Hall
2550 Hull Road
Gainesville, FL, 32611

Fungal ID Services

     

     

About

As an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and the curator of the UF Fungal Herbarium (FLAS) I have duties in three main areas: research (60%), teaching (20%) and extension (20%). I teach the UF Fungal Biology course (PLP 4653C/6656C) and am responsible for identifying unknown fungi for a variety of Florida stakeholders, including the UF Plant Disease Clinic, UF-IFAS Extension Service, and the UF Veterinary School. I am broadly interested in fungal ecology, evolution, and systematics. I have worked extensively on the biology and systematics of hypogeous fungi (“truffles”) and the ecology of plant-symbiotic ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. However, I have also studied a variety of other fungi, including the systematics of zygomycete fungi (in collaboration with Gerald Benny and ZygoLife), Florida’s wood decay fungi (with Jason Smith), and the symbiotic fungi of ambrosia beetles (in collaboration with Jiri Hulcr). Work in our lab combines the synergistic use of molecular, morphological, and culture-based methods in both laboratory and field settings

  • Education

    Ph.D. Graduate Group in Ecology, University of California at Davis, 2006

    B.S. Biological Sciences, University of California at Davis, 1997

  • Extension

    Fungal Herbarium
    Fungal ID Services

  • Research

    Mycology

    Dr. Smith has worked extensively on the biology and systematics of hypogeous fungi (“truffles”) and the ecology of plant-symbiotic ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. However, work in the Smith Lab has also on a variety of other fungal biology topics, including molecular detection methods for fungi, systematics and ecology of Pezizales fungi, fungal dispersal by animals, ambrosia beetle fungi, and systematics of early-diverging zygomycete fungi, among others. Our research combines the synergistic use of molecular, morphological, and culture-based methods in both laboratory and field settings.

    Interests & Projects

     

  • Publications

    View a collection of my publications on Google Scholar

  • Smith Lab

    Smith Lab Page

  • Teaching

    Teaching Page