Fungal endophytes - fungi that inhabit plant tissues without causing disease - are ubiquitous in leaves of plants, but their ecological roles are largely unexplored. In the context of an interdisciplinary research program focusing on diverse elements of endophyte ecology, evolution, and systematics, my current projects include (1) assessing the roles of endophytes in influencing the chemistry, nutritive value, and development of leaves, thereby shaping patterns of herbivory by folivorous insects; (2) determining the degree to which tropical plants host entomopathogenic fungi as endophytes, and examining such associations in the context of cryptic plant defenses; (3) large scale assessments of microfungal biodiversity in altered landscapes, and the fungal communities of introduced (both desirable and invasive) plants; (4) examination of broad-scale coevolution between microfungi and photosynthetic organisms; and (5) collaborative projects assessing the ecological roles of endophytic fungi in lichens (endolichenic fungi). Work in my lab also centers on a variety of systematics-oriented projects that lend themselves well to the study of insect, plant, and fungal interactions.