Hi, I’m Nikki, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab, studying nuclear dynamics in AM fungi. I previously completed my PhD with Dr. Leah Cowen at the University of Toronto in 2024 on the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Since joining the Kokkoris lab in the summer of 2026 my work has focused on the model species Rhizophagus irregularis, using live imaging and fluorescence microscopy to understand how AM fungi coordinate the movement and division of thousands of nuclei within a single gigantic cell. I am also interested in uncovering how nuclei may cooperate or compete when genetically distinct strains fuse to form shared mycelial networks, how these interactions impact plant hosts, and whether strain fusion enables a stable state within what may be a cryptic sexual cycle in these famously asexual fungi.