Cécile Gueidan is a
mycologist
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...
and
lichenologist who applies
morphological and
molecular biological methods to the origin and
taxonomy
image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy
Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...
of
fungi
A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
that live in
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
symbioses and within rocks.
Early life and education
Gueidan began working on lichens during her Maitrise (1998) and DEA (1999) qualifications from
Université Louis Pasteur and
National Museum of Natural History, France
The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the ...
. This included practical fieldwork experience with
Claude Roux.
She then studied molecular methods for lichen taxonomy at
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
, USA and applied them to pyrenocarpous and
Verrucariaceae lichens. Through combining morphological and molecular
characters, she was able to refine the taxonomy of these groups.
She was awarded her doctorate for this research in 2007.
Career
Her research focuses on the evolution and taxonomy of lichenised fungi and other
ascomycete
Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...
fungi.
After gaining her doctorate, Gueidan carried out research at the
Westerdijk Institute in the Netherlands on relationships between ascomycete fungi that inhabit rock and others involved in lichen symbioses. She then continued research into lichens within the family Verrucariaceae and related fungi at the
Natural History Museum in London between 2010 and 2014.
Since 2013 she has been a team leader at the Australian National Herbarium, part of the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications.
CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...
(CSIRO).
Publications
Gueidan is the author or co-author of at least 65 scientific publications including:
*
*
*
*
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* Daillant, O., Gueidan, C., Roche, F., Nicolas, M and Nicolas F. (2001) Observation des lichens et évolution de la qualité de l’air dans l’agglomération de Mâcon. ''Terre Vive'' 122 13-22.
Honours and awards
In 2010/11 Gueidan received the
Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. He is sometimes called the Mycology, "Linnaeus of Mycology". In his works he described and assigned botanical names to hundreds of fungus and li ...
Medal. This is an award for the quality and quantity of research by an early career mycologist working in Europe from the
International Mycological Association
The International Mycological Association (IMA) is a professional organization that promotes mycology, the study of fungi. It was founded in 1971 during the first International Mycological Congress, which was held in Exeter (UK).
The IMA publis ...
.
The lichen species ''
Ocellularia gueidaniana'' was named in her honour in 2015.
See also
*
:Taxa named by Cécile Gueidan
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gueidan, Cecile
Date of birth missing (living people)
French lichenologists
Duke University alumni
French mycologists
University of Strasbourg alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century French scientists
French taxonomists
CSIRO people
Living people