Biography
Carla joined the Trinity College Dublin Botany Department as an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science in 2020. She is a paleobotanist with a specialization in paleomycology, the study of fossil fungi. After she completed her Ph.D. at the University of Kansas on studying the diversity of Permian and Triassic fungi from Antarctica and 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 studies have permitted her to conduct fieldwork all over the world, including Antarctica. Her current research concentrates 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.
Role
- Funded Investigator
Institution
- TCD
Research Area
- Earth System Change
Expertise
- Climate and Environment
