Patricia Kaishian

Dr. Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian is the Curator of Mycology at the New York State Museum, as well as faculty with the Bard Prison Initiative. Her research focuses on fungal taxonomy, diversity, evolution, symbiosis, and ecology, particularly of the less studied fungal groups, such as the insect-associated Laboulbeniales. She is a co-founder of the International Congress of Armenian Mycologists, which seeks to jointly protect Armenian sovereignty and biodiversity. Patricia also studies philosophy of science, queer ecology, and queer theory, exploring how mycology and other scientific disciplines are situated in and informed by our sociopolitical landscape. Her work The science underground: mycology as a queer discipline appears in Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience. Her forthcoming book, Forest Euphoria, will be published by Spiegel & Grau.

BA, Wheaton College; PhD, mycology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. At NYSM since 2023.