Dr. Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Curator of Mycology
518-486-4872

Ph.D., Mycology, 2020, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, NY
B.A., Biology, 2013, Wheaton College, Norton, MA

My research is focused on the biodiversity and taxonomy of fungi. Because millions of species of fungi are unknown to science, my work involves naming and describing new species. I am especially interested in understudied groups, such as insect-associated parasites and rare mushrooms in New York State. I am conducting a long-term survey of fungal diversity in the capital region to document local species, as well as monitor how they may respond to climate change. My research also involves using modern molecular techniques to re-examine the historic mycological collection housed here at NYSM.

Publications

2025

J. Lemak, K. Quinn 2025, Margery Ryerson: Art is Contagious, New York State Museum Circular The University of the State of New York, Albany

2024

J. Lemak 2024, Public History Review, New York History 105, 386 - 388. 10.1353/nyh.2024.a951724

2023

J. Lemak 2023, Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw , and: Commeraw’s Stoneware: The Life and Work of the First African-American Pottery Owner by A. Brandt Zipp (review), New York History 104, 457-460. 10.1353/nyh.2023.a918288

2022

J. Lemak 2022, Strike the Hammer: The Black Freedom Struggle in Rochester, New York, 1940–1970 by Laura Warren Hill, New York History 103, 187-189.

2017

J. Lemak, A Hopkins-Benton 2017, Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial, Excelsior Editions State University of New York Press, Albany, New York
J. Lemak, A Hopkins-Benton 2017, Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial, Excelsior Editions State University of New York Press, Albany, New York

2014

R. Weible, J. Lemak, A. Noble 2014, An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War, Excelsior Editions State University of New York Press, Albany, New York
R. Weible, J. Lemak, A. Noble 2014, An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War, Excelsior Editions State University of New York Press, Albany, New York

2012

J. Lemak 2012, The Incomplete Celebration. New York Archives Magazine 12, 32-36

2011

J. Lemak 2011, Human Frogs in the History Collections!. Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum 6, 16