Laura Guzmán Dávalos (born 1961) is a Mexican

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and lichenologist. She has been the head of the Botany and Zoology Department at the

University of Guadalajara The University of Guadalajara ( es, Universidad de Guadalajara) is a public higher education institution in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. The university has several high schools as well as graduate and undergraduate campuses, which are distr ...

(UdeG) from 1994–1998. From 2007 to 2014, she served as the general coordinator of the UdeG doctoral program in

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

biosystematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the Correlation and dependence, relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: c ...

, and natural and agricultural resources management.

Early life and education

Guzmán-Dávalos was born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

in 1961, and is the daughter of the well-known mycologist and

ethnomycologist Ethnomycology is the study of the historical uses and sociological impact of fungi and can be considered a subfield of ethnobotany or ethnobiology. Although in theory the term includes fungi used for such purposes as tinder, medicine (medicinal m ...

, Gaston Guzmán (1932–2016) who devoted his life and research to mushrooms of the genus ''

Psilocybe ''Psilocybe'' ( ) is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Most or nearly all species contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Taxonomy Taxonomic history A 2002 study of the mole ...

'', and the medicinal and divinatory uses of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s by various

Indigenous peoples of Mexico Indigenous peoples of Mexico ( es, gente indígena de México, pueblos indígenas de México), Native Mexicans ( es, nativos mexicanos) or Mexican Native Americans ( es, pueblos originarios de México, lit=Original peoples of Mexico), are those ...

. Guzmán-Dávalos received a degree in biology from the National School of Biological Sciences at the

National Polytechnic Institute National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(IPN) in 1984, and her masters degree from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

in 1994. She received her doctorate degree in 2004 from the same university.

Research

Guzman-Davalos' mycological research includes the genera ''

Ganoderma ''Ganoderma'' is a genus of polypore fungi in the family Ganodermataceae that includes about 80 species, many from tropical regions. They have a high genetic diversity and are used in traditional Asian medicines. ''Ganoderma'' can be differenti ...

'', ''

Pluteus ''Pluteus'' is a large genus of fungi with over 300 species. They are wood rotting saprobes with pink spore prints and gills that are free from the stem. The Latin word ''Pluteus'' means ''shed or penthouse''. Characteristics of the genus ...

'' and ''

Gymnopilus ''Gymnopilus'' is a genus of gilled mushrooms within the fungal family Strophariaceae containing about 200 rusty-orange spored mushroom species formerly divided among ''Pholiota'' and the defunct genus ''Flammula''. The fruit body is typically ...

'' (

Cortinariaceae The Cortinariaceae are a large family of gilled mushrooms found worldwide, containing over 2100 species. The family takes its name from its largest genus, the varied species of the genus ''Cortinarius''. Many genera formerly in the Cortinariaceae ...

). She has published over 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals, seven book chapters and authored a book on lepiotaceous fungi. She has conducted mycological and lichenological exploration and field work in Belgium, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom the United States and Venezuela.

Honors

* Sociedad Botánica de México. * Del Comité Ejecutivo de la International Mycological Association * International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT). * American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT).

References

{{Authority control Mexican women academics Mexican women scientists Mexican mycologists Mexican biologists Scientists from Mexico City 1961 births Lichenologists Instituto Politécnico Nacional alumni National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Living people