Olivia A. Asher


Contact Information:


Phone: 706-542-9729
E-mail: oaa92954@uga.edu
Address:
Institute of Bioinformatics
C424 Life Sciences Building
Athens, GA 30602
Phone: 706-542-9235

Education:


  • Ph.D. student, University of Georgia, 2021-Present
  • B.Sc. in Biology, Summa Cum Laude , Macaulay Honors College at Lehman College, 2021

Research Positions:


  • Research Experience Undergraduate (REU) Intern, University of Georgia. May 2020 – Present
  • Lichenology and Mycology Research Assistant, New York Botanical Garden. January 2018 - Present
  • Cryptogamic Herbarium Volunteer, New York Botanical Garden. October 2017 – January 2018
  • Mycology Research Assistant, Royal Botanic Garden Victoria. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. June 2019 – July 2019
  • Science Research Mentoring Program Intern, American Museum of Natural History, Department of Mammalogy. September 2015 – August 2017

Teaching Experience:


  • Lehman College, Science Learning Center, CRLA Certified Tutor, Bronx, NY, February 2019 – May 2021
  • Macaulay Honors College, BioBlitz Lead Instructor, New York, NY, September 2019
  • Macaulay Honors College, BioBlitz Lead Instructor Assistant, New York, NY, September 2018
  • American Museum of Natural History, Lang Science Program Teaching Assistant, New York, NY, July 2017 – August 2017

Additional Training:


  • Computational software: R, MATLAB, maximum likelihood (RAxML) and Bayesian (MrBayes) phylogenetic analysis
  • Geospatial software: ArcGIS, TerrSet
  • Laboratory: microscopy, DNA extractions and PCR, thin-layer chromatography

Research Interests:


  • Genomics, fungal symbiosis, and dynamic modeling

Publications:


  • Davoodian, N., Hosaka, K., Raspé O., Asher, O.A., Franck, A.R., De Kesel, A., Delaney, T.P., Ammirati, J.F., Nagasawa E., B. Buyck and Halling, R.E. (2020). Diversity of Gyroporus (Gyroporaceae, Boletales): rpb2 phylogeny and three new species. Phylotaxa 434(3), 208-218.
  • Duncan, N., Asher, O.A., Weckel, M., Nagy, C., C. Henger and Yau, F. (2020). Baseline diet of an urban carnivore on an expanding range front. Journal of Urban Ecology 6(1), https://doi.org/10.1093/jue/juaa021.
  • Asher, O.A. and Lendemer, J.C. (2018). Lecanora caperatica (Lecanoraceae, lichenized ascomycetes) a new sorediate species widespread in eastern North America. The Bryologist, 121(3), 306–323.

Awards:


  • Macaulay Honors College, Full Merit Full-Tuition Scholarship (Four Year) August 2017 – May 2021
  • Lehman College, Presidential Scholar (Academic honor) August 2017 – May 2021
  • Macaulay Honors College, Goldsmith Scholar (Academic honor) February 2019– May 2021
  • Torrey Botanical Society, Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship ($1,000) May 2019
  • Macaulay Honors College, Enhanced Opportunities Fund ($5,000) May 2019
  • Mycological Society of America, Undergraduate Research Award ($500) May 2019
  • Con Edison Inc., Con Edison Endowed Scholarship ($5,000) October 2019
  • National Institute of Health, Research Initiative in Scientific Enhancement (RISE) ($3,040) October 2019 – May 2021
  • Lehman College, Department of Biological Sciences Dominick Basile Undergraduate Award (Academic honor) April 2021
  • Lehman College, Department of Biological Sciences Kane Prize ($) May 2021
  • Lehman College, CUNY-AC Scholar Athlete of the Year (Academic honor) May 2021
  • Department of Energy, Computational Science Graduate Fellowship ($38,000) September 2021-August 2022
  • University of Georgia, Presidential Fellowship ($10,000) August 2021

Associations:


  • Co-President, Graduate Pride Organization, University of Georgia
  • Lehman College, Flora, Fauna, Fungi Undergraduate Trails Club, Founding President, August 2019 – March 2020
  • Lehman College, Division III Swim Team, Member, August 2019 – March 2020
  • New York Cares, Volunteer, April 2018–March 2020

Presentations:


    Talks:

  • University of Georgia Research Experience Undergraduate Symposium 2020 (Online) – Who Will Survive? Ecological Modeling of Nutrient Exchange Between Plants and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi.
  • Northeast Natural History Conference 2017 (Cromwell, CONN) – Spatial Variation in the Diet of New York City Coyotes

    • Posters:

  • Mycological Society of America Meeting 2019 (Minneapolis, MN) – Phylogenetic Analyses of the Genus Platismatia (Parmeliaceae, Lichenized Ascomycetes) Shed New Light on Species Relationships
  • Northeast Natural History Conference 2019 (Springfield, MA) – Phylogenetic Analyses of the Genus Platismatia (Parmeliaceae, Lichenized Ascomycetes) Shed New Light on Species Relationships
  • Student Undergraduate Research Conference 2019 (Farmingdale, NY)– Phylogenetic Analyses of the Genus Platismatia (Parmeliaceae, Lichenized Ascomycetes) Shed New Light on Species Relationships
  • Lehman Student Scholars Conference 2019 (Bronx, NY) Phylogenetic Analyses of the Genus Platismatia (Parmeliaceae, Lichenized Ascomycetes) Shed New Light on Species Relationships
  • Student Conference on Conservation Science 2016 (New York, NY) Diet of New York City Coyotes

Independent Writing: