Heather Hallen-AdamsDr. Heather Hallen-Adams
Assistant Professor

Education:
B.S. Plant Biology, University of Minnesota
Ph.D. Botany and Plant Pathology, Michigan State University
Post Doc: Plant Biology and DOE Plant Research Lab, Michigan State University
 

Contact Information:
319 Food Industry Complex
Lincoln, NE 68583-0919
email: hhallen-adams2@unl.edu
 

Teaching and/or Extension Activities:
Molds and Mycotoxins, Food Microbiology

Research Area:
Fungal ecology in the context of gut health and food production.

  1. The role of fungi in the healthy human gut, including interactions between different species of gut fungi, interactionswith bacteria, and interactions with the human host.
  2. The potential for fungal probiotics to limit fungal disease in humans.
  3. Cross-talk between a toxigenic fungus (Fusarium graminearum) and its plant host (wheat) during disease development.

 

Five Selected Publications:

  • Hallen, H. E., H. Luo, J. S. Scott-Craig and J. D. Walton. 2007. Gene family encoding the major toxins of lethal Amanita mushrooms. PNAS 104: 19097-19101.
  • Hallen, H. E., M. Huebner, S.-H. Shiu, U. Gueldener and F. Trail. 2007. Gene expression shifts during perithecium development in Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum), with particular emphasis on ion transport proteins. Fungal Genet. Biol. 44: 1146-1156.
  • Luo, H., H. E. Hallen-Adams and J. D. Walton. 2009. Processing the phalloidin proprotein by proly oligopeptidase from the mushroom Conocybe albipes. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 18070-18077.
  • Baldwin, T. K., I. Gaffoor, J. Antoniw, C. Andries, J. Guenther, M. Urban, H. E. Hallen-Adams, J. Pitkin, K. E. Hammond-Kosack and F. Trail. 2010. A partial chromosome deletion caused by random plasmid integration resulted in a reduced virulence phenotype in Fusarium graminearum. MPMI 23: 1083-1096.
  • Hallen, H. E., N. Wenner, G. Kuldau, F. Trail. 2011. Deoxynivalenol biosynthesis-related gene expression during wheat kernel colonization by Fusarium graminearum. Phytopathology. doi: 10.1094/PHYTO-01-11-0023, http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-01-11-0023.