2011 internship:

Myxomycetes are a small, relatively homogenous group of eukaryotic organisms, with about 900 known species worldwide. In the Philippines, only selected lowland and highland forests have been surveyed for the presence of myxomycetes. Recent studies by the research proponent showed that many species awaits discovery. Identities of those collected specimens require further confirmation. Thus, this research project looks at selected specimens of plasmodial myxomycetes recently collected from the Philippines and confirms their identities with the myxomycete collection at the National Botanic Garden in Belgium following comparison of their morphologies. The interactive database that will be developed presents the taxonomic description of the collected specimens and their geographic distribution and will serve as a virtual herbarium accessible for researchers, particularly Filipino taxonomists.

2013 internship:

The Ifugao woodlot or muyong system is a unique agroforestry practice used by the indigenous people in the Philippines (Madulid, 2010). This natural forest vegetation serves as complimentary areas for gathering of fuelwood, food and medicine, and for other personal or family needs. Ethnobotanical studies reported many indigenous species of plants in the area. However, none so far reported on the macrofungi assemblages in these unique forest habitats. In this research project, macrofungi will be collected within this forest reserve in the province of Ifugao. The collected mushrooms will then be identified based on their macroscopic and ultrastructure morphologies using light microscope with digital imaging system and scanning electron microscope. A taxonomic guide to the Ifugao Woodlot Mushrooms will later be developed from the images obtained from this project.