About The Mushroom Research Foundation
The Mushroom Research Foundation (MRF) is an NGO whose aim is to promote the study of fungal diversity throughout northern Thailand and Asia by training students from the region at the higher degree level. MRF is non-profit making organization and has its office in Chiang Rai District. It has two research stations, the Mushroom Research Centre at km 27 on the Mae Hong Son road (altitude 770, map reference 19 07.200' N, 98 44.044' E). The Mushroom Research Centre presently comprises 6 main buildings, the laboratory, the library, the lecture room, the main building, the museum and the restaurant. The facility is used as a field centre for study especially during the wet season. The second research facility is the Mushroom Research Farm near Bandoo in Chiang Rai. This facility is used for mushroom growing research and has five partially controlled, dedicated mushroom growing houses, a compost preparation room, pasteurization unit, a library and storage space.
Students are selected from the Asian region and are funded through biodiversity collaborations and grants. Students presently register for their higher degrees at various Universities in Thailand, with whom the MRF has close collaborations. Students presently mostly register at Mae Fah Luang University.
The MRF also has facilities for workshops and the first workshop on Fungal Taxonomy was held in July 2003 at the Centre and attended by 16 multinational students while a workshop on Fungal taxonomy and Quarantine was held in November 2005. The last workshop was held in 2012 on Fungal Phylogeny.
See The Mushroom Research Centre for workshops offered in 2014 and beyond.
MRF also publishes books and international peer reviewed journals. These include
We also plan to set up web pages on identifying different groups of the fungi.
Research Philosophy
Fungi are amazingly beautiful organisms but have suffered from decades of lack of funding for research especially in the tropics. The goal of The Mushroom Research Foundation (Thailand) is to develop a Centre at which Asian students can receive training in Fungal Research and thus increase our knowledge of these wonderful organisms.
Want to become involved?
How can you help in achieving the objectives of the Centre?
We aim to promote the study of fungi throughout the Asian region by training students at graduate and higher levels. Our objectives aim to fulfil some of the recommendations of the Convention of Biological Diversity and Global Taxonomy Initiative by increasing taxonomic expertise in fungi. Anyone interested in helping us to achieve these aims should contact the administrator.
Contributions
We are happy to receive funds from anyone interested in furthering our cause. This can be in the form of donations, equipment, grants or contributions to buildings. Anyone interested in donating funds for a building and would like to have the building named after them should contact the administrator.
Mushroom Research Centre Workshops
TBA
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Do you want to study at MRC?
We welcome individuals and groups wishing to use the facilities at The Mushroom Research Center.