Joseph Di Meglio

My name is Joseph Di Meglio and I'm a lichenologist and taxonomist whose research focuses on the biodiversity, systematics, ecology, and conservation of lichens in western North America. I earned my M.S. in Botany and Plant Pathology from Oregon State University, building on a B.S. focused on lichen ecology and taxonomy. My research experience includes field-based lichen community analysis, lichen pollution index chemical analysis, herbarium curation, microscopy, DNA extraction, PCR, Sanger and whole genome (long read/short read) sequencing, and phylogenetic & phylogenomic analysis.

For more than a decade, I have worked with lichens in both field and laboratory settings, with a particular interest in resolving difficult species boundaries through an integration of morphology, geography, and molecular data. My research has contributed to the description and revision of several western North American lichens.

My 2023 study resolving the Sticta fuliginosa complex received the 2024 Tuckerman Award in Lichenology from The Bryologist. I subsequently coauthored the description of Sticta puebloensis, a new species from the American Southwest, and continue to investigate previously unrecognized Sticta diversity in the Southwest and northern Mexico with collaborators.

I am also committed to science education and community outreach. I have taught university botany and biology laboratories and have participated in educational outreach introducing students to fungi, mushroom cultivation, lichen taxonomy and applied mycology. I view public engagement and education as important components of biodiversity research and conservation.

My long-term goal is to combine field exploration, taxonomy, molecular biology, natural-history collections, and regional collaboration to improve documentation and conservation of poorly known lichen biodiversity across western North America.

August 2026