S01 E01 - Biofilm First-Erika Espinosa Ortiz

Welcome to Biofilm First, a podcast exploring the work being conducted at the Center for
Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University, the world's first, largest, and best-known
biofilm research center.
My name is Skip Andersen, and today we're talking with Dr. Erika Espinosa-Ortiz, whose
research interests include fungal-based technologies for water and soil remediation, biodeterioration
of building materials due to multi-domain biofilm formation, and the biomineralization
processes applied to the medical field, such as the formation of kidney stones induced
by urinary tract infections.
Today we'll speak with Erika about why the National Science Foundation is interested
in making building materials out of fungi, why NASA is eyeing fungi to aid in long-term
space travel, and how biofilm