About me
Molecular mycologist and science writer by training, Mandie Quark is a genomic researcher with a passion for the advancement of community mycology. Her specialty is creative communication around fungal DNA sequencing, and she specializes in explaining the complexities of science to the public. Mandie earned her Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia in 2014 and her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from St. Mary’s Honors College in 2007. Her career started at Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a biomedical center of excellence at one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals, where she worked as a drug discovery scientist from 2007-2018. Mandie left to focus on research and communications while starting mycological field work. Now with over a decade of experience studying, professionally photographing, and communicating about fungi to the public, Mandie has edited mycology books and spoken at events across the world. In 2024, Mandie was featured in articles in The Guardian and The New York Times. Currently Mandie lives and works part-time in the California Bay Area and tours the globe as a keynote speaker, photographer, and field collector during mushroom season. Last year she was the Foray Chair for the North American Mycological Association and this year she is a member of NAMA’s recently established DNA Sequencing Committee. In her current positions as the Director of the CA MycoMap Network and Senior Researcher at the Ohio Mushroom DNA Lab, Mandie is dedicated to building and empowering networks of community mycologists to document fungal diversity across North America, and beyond. Mandie also works as a science writer for Supermind, composing scientifically accurate articles on psychoactive mushroom species. Yet, what she deems her most important work is with the company she co-founded, Mycena. In this role, Mandie travels to the remote edges of the explorable world to find, photograph, and document rare fungi. The Guardian Life, death and zombie mushrooms: in search of the Amazon’s rarest fungi Mycologists Alan Rockefeller and Mandie Quark are on a mission to meticulously document species in Ecuador’s jungle – before they vanish. January 5, 2024 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/05/mushrooms-amazon-ecuador-rare-fungi-aoe The New York Times Mushroom Hunters Can’t Stop Finding Mysterious Fungi For years, mycologists and hobbyists alike have been using DNA sequencing on foraged fungi. June 11, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/science/mushroom-hunters-dna.html
