V. Bala Chaudhary

The first spectrum of spore form and function reveals constrained evolution in mycorrhizal symbiosis

This study constructs the first quantitative morphospace of AM fungal spores, revealing that spore morphology evolves mainly through scaling rather than redesign.

Unique soil fungal communities are associated with disappearing ash trees in a northern temperate hardwood forest

The paper investigates soil fungal communities under different tree species, finding that ash trees support unique and at-risk fungal communities.

A novel pipeline for the rapid expansion of ecological trait databases using LLMs

This paper introduces an LLM-based pipeline to automate trait data extraction from fungal descriptions, showing promise but with variable accuracy across traits.

The W-index: a novel tool to evaluate gender equity in STEM research

The paper introduces the W-index, a metric to assess gender equity in STEM research, showing it increases with women's representation and career stage across multiple case studies.

Climate-linked biogeography of mycorrhizal fungal spore traits

This study identifies climate drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spore traits globally, revealing trade-offs between persistence and dispersal and highlighting climate's role in shaping microbial biogeography.