Kirsten Müller

Expertise:

• World expert on Bangiales – types of red algae
• Red algae of economic importance - they contain compounds (agar, carrageenan, etc.) that are used extensively as thickeners in products such as yogurt, ice cream and toothpaste
• Red algae as food sources - genera such as Porphyra (aka. Nori, laverbread) and Palmaria (a.k.a. Dulse) are important food sources and are global billion-dollar aquaculture industries
• Red algae as a critical group in the evolution of photosynthetic life on earth through secondary endosymbiosis of chloroplasts
• Red algae as a nuisance - (e.g. Cladophora and Chara in Laurentian Great Lakes), invasive species (e.g. Bangia atropupurea in the Great Lakes)
• Cyanobacteria that release toxins and taste and odour compounds in drinking water (Lake Ontario)