I grew up in Nova Scotia with two brothers where the beautiful landscapes of the Annapolis Valley and Bay of Fundy coastline nurtured my love of the living world. In 1999, after taking time after high school to travel Europe, I came to the Macdonald Campus of McGill University with a strong interest in ethnobotany (indigenous plant use) to pursue a B.Sc. in botany. An interest in how plants interact with and respond to their environment led me to study plant-insect interactions at McGill, and in 2007 I earned my M.Sc. for work on changes in gene expression in plants as a defense against caterpillar herbivores. I am an insufferable mycophile (a passionate lover of fungi), and I dedicated myself to learning about this breathtaking kingdom of underappreciated organisms since high school. This led to an opportunity to teach the course Biology of Fungi at McGill University from 2006 to 2008. I began teaching at John Abbott in the fall of 2008 and I remain thrilled to be a part of such a vibrant, knowledgeable, and friendly college and department. Students are always welcome to stop by my office to chat about fungi, plants, evolution, genetics, or strange and exciting music.