Teun Boekhout has been working at the Central Bureau for Fungal Cultures since 1987. Since 2001 he lead research into yeasts and mushrooms. He is also a visiting professor at Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Medical Mycology and a research fellow at the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IM-CAS) in Beijing. Boekhout is also chairman of the 'Mycology and (other) Eukaryotic Microbiology' division of the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS).
His work focusses on the (bio)functional diversity and natural niches of (pathogenic) fungi, including yeasts. He does this both in temperate regions and in the tropics. Among other things, he examines the ecosystem functions of these fungi and investigate how these functions change under the influence of climate change, and also analyse the migratory routes of (mostly pathogenic) fungi.