About me:
Dr. Kari E. Dunfield, is a Professor and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Environmental Microbiology of Agro-ecosystems, in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph.
She received her BSc in the Biological Sciences Department at the University of Calgary in 1995, and her MSc in the Department of Plant Agriculture (1999) and PhD in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan (2002). She worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Maine, Darling Marine Center, and joined the University of Guelph in 2004.
Working at the intersection of microbiology, ecology, and soil science, her work investigates the microbial communities and microbial processes driving the global processes that help support life on Earth, and focuses on climate change, soil conservation, human pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes in the environment, and food security. She is passionate about educating the public about the importance of soils, and is the Executive of a knowledge mobilization and outreach program, called Soils@Guelph, and the North American Representative for UN-FAO Global Soil Partnership (Pillar 1). Dr. Dunfield is also an incoming Vice-President for the Canadian Society of Microbiology, and is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Microbiology.