Dr. Carla Harper

Carla is a paleobotanist with a specialization in paleomycology, the study of fossil fungi. She has always been fascinated with all things paleontology and has a strong background in illustration, art, and graphic design. During her undergraduate, she completed a double degree at Purdue University in Botany and Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics; her favorite modules were in plant anatomy and plant pathology. In graduate school, combining all of these interests and adding in a passion for mycology, she completed her Ph.D. at the University of Kansas on studying the diversity of Permian and Triassic fungi from Antarctica. After graduate school, she received an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to work in Munich, Germany at the Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology and Geology (BSPG) to study fungi from late Paleozoic ecosystems, including the world famous Rhynie chert from Scotland. Carla then had three postdoctoral positions with the US National Science Foundation (NSF) ZyGoLife, NSF Office of Polar Research Antarctica, and the German Research Foundation (DFG) at the BSPG, all focused on studying fossil fungi. Her research has permitted her to conduct fieldwork all over the world, including Antarctica. In March 2020, Carla joined the Trinity College Dublin Botany Department as an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science. She continues her research on the biology and ecology of microorganisms and biotas in Permian (~270 Ma), Triassic (~240 Ma), and Jurassic (~180 Ma) ecosystems of Antarctica and late Paleozoic of Europe (~400 Ma and 330 Ma); symbiotic systems through time, as well as the biology, geochemistry, and evolution of fossil microbes (with an emphasis on interactions, interrelatedness, and nutritional modes). She is also excited to expand her research to study the late Palaeozoic floras of Ireland. In addition, she is keen to document the modern biodiversity of fungi, principally mycorrhizal fungi and tree pathogens, to use as modern analogs to compare to ancient fungi. As co-editor of the book, Transformative Paleobotany, Carla is especially interested in new approaches to studying and visualizing fossil fungi such as analytical techniques, advanced microscopy, and geochemical approaches. She is the most excited at breaking down and understanding complex interactions and pathways between ancient plants and fungi, and how fungi played a role in the early evolution of plants. Combining her passions for art and paleontology, her microscopy imagery (Triarch botanical image award) and research (IW Bailey Award, Isabell Cookson Award) have received international accolades. Carla has won several teaching and mentoring awards, and she is the Inclusive Curriculum champion for the School of Natural Science, a member of the TCD Nature+ as an advocate for research on fungal biodiversity, and a co-editor of the 2021 International Journal of Plant Sciences, all-women first-author, special volume Women in Paleobotany - A Tribute to Edith L. Taylor.

  ANTARCTICA   BIODIVERSITY   Botany   CARBONIFEROUS   CRETACEOUS   DEVONIAN   FOSSIL   Fossil Fungi   Fossil spores   Fossil Wood   Fossils   FUNGI   JURASSIC   LOWER CARBONIFEROUS   MICROFUNGI   Morphology   Mucoromycotina   MUSHROOM   MYCORRHIZA   MYCORRHIZAL   MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI   PERMIAN   PLANT MACROFOSSILS   Rhynie chert   Triassic   VESICULAR-ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAS   Zygomycota