Jyotsna Sharma

 Associate Professor

Dr. Sharma received a Summa Cum Laude bachelor’s degree in horticulture and business from the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville. She conducted graduate research in the field of plant ecology at the University of Missouri – Columbia and continued her research training at Iowa State University as a postdoctoral research associate. She is an active, contributing member of IUCN Orchid Specialist Group, Ecological Society of America, Botanical Society of America, Native Orchid Conference, Inc., and the North American Orchid Conservation Center.

 Plant and mycorrhizal ecology, including that of the Orchidaceae.Dr. Sharma is interested in understanding the ecological factors influencing the growth, distribution, and diversity of plants and how these factors are influenced by, or in turn influence, mycorrhizal fungi. Both molecular and field-based methods are used to nvestigate pertinent questions with respect to plant ecology and conservation, symbiotic plant-fungal interactions, and plant and fungal ecological genetics.