Meet the Principal Investigator

Cedric Ndinga Muniania, Ph.D. is the founder and Principal Investigator of the PHYFUN Lab and currently serves as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He is also an Assistant Professor at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénierie et de Foresterie (ENSAF), Université Marien Ngouabi, where he teaches soil microbiology and plant pathology.

Cedric's research seeks to understand how interactions between plants and fungi shape biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and plant resilience in a rapidly changing world. At the PHYFUN Lab, we combine field ecology, molecular biology, fungal culturing, greenhouse experiments, high-throughput DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, and quantitative ecology to uncover the mechanisms governing plant–fungal interactions across natural and urban ecosystems. Our work spans the continuum from beneficial fungal symbionts that enhance plant performance to pathogenic fungi that regulate plant populations, with the overarching goal of understanding how environmental change—including climate change, urbanization, pollution, and biological invasions—alters these relationships.

A central vision of the PHYFUN Lab is to bridge fundamental and applied research. While advances in DNA sequencing have transformed our understanding of fungal diversity, translating this knowledge into practical solutions requires linking microbial identity to function. Through culture collections, functional trait assays, greenhouse and field experiments, and community-level analyses, we seek to identify fungal species and communities that can improve ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable agriculture. By integrating controlled experiments with studies conducted in natural ecosystems, the lab develops predictive frameworks that explain when, where, and why plant–fungal interactions benefit—or hinder—plant health.

Originally from the Republic of Congo, Cedric earned his Ph.D. in Plant and Microbial Biology from the University of Minnesota, where he investigated the ecological processes shaping root-associated fungal communities across environmental gradients. He later completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, studying how climate and urbanization influence plant disease dynamics before joining the University of Toronto Scarborough. His research has since expanded to include microbial community assembly, disease ecology, plant–soil feedbacks, fungal functional ecology, and the development of microbial applications for ecosystem management.

Cedric has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on plant–fungal ecology, microbial community assembly, and disease ecology, and his work has been supported by competitive fellowships and research awards. Beyond research, he is passionate about mentoring students at all levels and creating opportunities for aspiring scientists through teaching, outreach, and citizen science initiatives. Through the PHYFUN Lab, Cedric aims to advance both scientific discovery and practical solutions that harness the power of fungi to build healthier ecosystems in a changing world.