Francis Martin is Distinguished Research Director at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (Inrae) in Nancy, France, Head of the Cluster of excellence ARBRE and Distinguished Professor at the Beijing Forestry University, China. He earned his doctorates in Plant sciences from Nancy and Paris-Sud Universities. He conducted postdoctoral and sabbatical research at at the University of California Los Angeles, CSIRO-Perth, and USDA Atlantic Research Center. His main research topics include developmental pathways in mycorrhizal symbioses, fungal evolution, comparative and paleogenomics, and forest ecology. His research focuses on understanding how fungi drive forest ecosystems through their roles in important soil processes including decomposition and nutrient turnover as well as carbon sequestration.