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Toby Kiers

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Toby Kiers
Born
Erica Tobyn Kiers

1976 (age 47–48)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
  • Bowdoin College
  • UC Davis
Scientific career
InstitutionsVrije Universiteit Amsterdam
ThesisEvolution of cooperation in the legume-rhizobium symbiosis (2005)
Doctoral advisorRobert Ford Denison
Websitetobykiers.com

Toby Kiers is an American evolutionary biologist who is a University Research Chair and professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.[1] Kiers pioneered an economic interpretation of the interactions and exchanges between plants, fungi and microbes in mycorrhizal networks.[2] She co-founded the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN). Kiers is a 2023 Spinoza laureate.[3][4]

Early life and education

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Kiers attended The Mountain School in Vermont for her fall 1992 high school semester.[5]

Kiers received her B.A. in 1999 from Bowdoin College. In 1997, she spent time as a student at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and gave a talk.[6]

She did her Ph.D. at UC Davis, completing a thesis entitled Evolution of cooperation in the legume-rhizobium symbiosis in 2005 supervised by Robert Ford Denison.[7]

Career and research

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Kiers did research in Panama and Japan after her degree before being appointed professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford.[8]

Kiers is best known for her work on mycorrhizal networks, studying the rates of exchange of nutrients. Her observations are that fungi in the soil behave as economic agents in a free-market system, supplying more phosphorus to plants that are able to deliver more sugar in exchange.[9][10][11] Based on this hypothesis, Kiers is interested in developing fungi that behave "altruistically" in their environment to foster efficient plant growth and reduce the need for fertilizers.[2][12] This interpretation of soil interactions as competition complicated the picture of a collaborative equilibrium that had begun to develop prior. It also allows Kiers to borrow mathematical models from economic theory to characterize nutrient exchanges. To track the flow of nutrients, Kiers has pioneered the use of quantum dots to tag molecules so that they fluoresce and can be more easily differentiated.[13] Her work also concerns the evolution of plant-fungal interactions as the organisms evolve and enter into contact with new partners.[14] Her research is supported by the European Research Council,[15] the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the National Science Foundation.[8]

Kiers's economic interpretation of nutrient exchange is not universally accepted. Others have noted that this perspective anthropomorphizes fungi in a way that may not accurately capture the true dynamics of the system. By assuming that each organism acts to further its own personal gain, the theory neglects the possibility that plants and fungi may exist in a fully collaborative relationship with well-aligned interests.[13]

Kiers participates in science outreach events and talks. In 2019, she gave a TED talk on her work entitled "Lessons from fungi on markets and economics".[16] She has been a speaker at Brave New World events,[17] at Ars Electronica Gardens[18] and at Cambridge University.[19] Kiers has also worked in collaboration with artists. She helped to create an art installation with Isaac Monté[20][21] and worked with designer Niels Hoebers to create an animated short film as a visual aid for her research presentations.[22] Her research and comments on mycorrhizal networks were featured in the 2020 book Entangled Life.[23]

Kiers has launched a non-profit organization called Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) dedicated to informing the public about mycorrhizal networks, protecting biodiversity hotspots, and promoting further research.[24][25]

Awards and honours

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Personal life

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She is married and has two children.[5]

Kiers has been a strong advocate against bioengineered food, demanding that labels clearly indicate the presence of genetically engineered ingredients.[28]

References

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Scholia has a profile for Toby Kiers (Q78103998).
  1. ^ "Toby Kiers". Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  2. ^ a b "Toby Kiers - University Research Chair - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam". www.vu.nl. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  3. ^ "Toby Kiers receives Spinoza Prize for groundbreaking fungal research". Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  4. ^ "Spinoza laureates 2023 | NWO". www.nwo.nl. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  5. ^ a b "News from the Mountain School" (PDF). www.mountainschool.org/newsletters. 2015. Retrieved 2021-03-30.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "BAMBI Seminar at BCI". STRI News. 25 April 1997. hdl:10088/97511.
  7. ^ Kiers, Erica Tobyn (2005). Evolution of cooperation in the legume-rhizobium symbiosis (Thesis). ProQuest 305032525.
  8. ^ a b c "Toby Kiers". Ammodo Science Award. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  9. ^ "Microbes buy low and sell high". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  10. ^ Cossins, Daniel. "Brainless fungi trade resources with plants like a stock market". New Scientist. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  11. ^ "Fungi, it turns out, are canny traders of nutrients to plants". The Economist. 2019-06-06. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  12. ^ "Using fungi to decrease need for chemical fertilizers". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  13. ^ a b Popkin, Gabriel (2019-08-19). "Soil's Microbial Market Shows the Ruthless Side of Forests". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  14. ^ "Plant relationships breakdown when they meet new 'fungi'". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  15. ^ "Toby Kiers". ERC: European Research Council. 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  16. ^ Kiers, Toby. "Toby Kiers | Speaker | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  17. ^ "Toby Kiers". Brave New World (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  18. ^ "Observing the Microscopic Gardens". In Kepler's Gardens. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  19. ^ "talks.cam : Tracking trade in underground symbioses". talks.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  20. ^ Monté, Isaac. "MU | Interview With BAD Award Winner Isaac Monté & Toby Kiers". www.mu.nl. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  21. ^ "The Art of Deception". Mediamatic. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  22. ^ Kennedy, Gabrielle (2013-12-05). "When Science meets Design". design.nl. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  23. ^ "Our Entangled World - Rex Weyler". Greenpeace International. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  24. ^ "European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) - Science meets Philosophy: Toby Kiers". philsci.eu. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  25. ^ "SPUN – Protect the underground" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  26. ^ "MU | Announcing Winners BAD Award 2015". www.mu.nl. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  27. ^ "Impact Award recipients 2023". Amsterdam Science Innovation Award. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  28. ^ Lewis, Raphael (2000-03-26). "Opposition reflects the diversity of grass-roots movement". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
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