Scientific Programme
09:30-09:45 Arrivals and tea/coffee
09:45-10:00 Introductions and network overview
10:00 to 11:30 Session 1: Engineering and Biotechnology
Session Chairs: Claire Stanley and Rodrigo Ledesma Amaro
10:00 Keynote Speaker 1
Rodrigo Ledesma Amaro: Yeast metabolic engineering: towards a sustainable bioeconomy
10:30 Elevator Talks
Tom Ellis: Synthetic biology in pursuit of a minimal yeast cell cycle
Eliza Atkinson: Engineering yeast consortia for division of labour in substrate utilisation
Mohamed Almarei: Investigating anaerobic growth in the obligate aerobe Yarrowia lipolytica
Petr Sherin: New insights in the internal life of yeast by Fluorescent Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM)
Léa Bernier: Microorganisms-on-a-Chip: deciphering the responsiveness of spore communities
Tara Hameed: In silico modelling of IFNg therapies for invasive aspergillosis
David Moyes: Metabolic reprogramming and the mycobiome
Kazuhiro Ito: Inhaled antifungal agents: paradigm shift in the treatment of pulmonary mycosis
Highlight Ten Feizi: Glycobiology of fungal infection
11:30 Coffee Break
11:45 to 13:15 Session 2: Plants, Fungi and Ecology
Session Chairs: Martin Bidartondo and Ioly Kotta-Loizou
11:45 Keynote Speaker 2
David Johnson (virtual): The functioning of underground fungal networks
12:15 Elevator talks
Pietro Spanu: Cross-kingdom RNA exchanges in plant-fungus interactions
Guillaume Delhaye: Fungal community ecology
Yasin Tumtas: Reprogramming of plant endomembrane transport during plant-pathogen interactions
Felix Richter: Spores-on-a-Chip: investigations on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi using novel microfluidic technology
Sam Shepherd: Plant NLR trafficking during oomycete infections
Amelie Brackin: Environmental acquisition of azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus (ARAf) in chronic respiratory diseases
Ali Versi: Microbiome-host interaction in U-BIOPRED
Bernadette Byrne: Understanding how a fungal transporter works and exploring its potential as a drug target
Highlight Ioly Kotta-Loizou: Fungal viruses
13:15-14:00 Lunch
14:00 Session 3: Host-pathogen interactions
Session Chairs: Anand Shah and Darius Armstrong-James
14:00 Keynote Speaker 3
Mike Bromley: Can functional genomics facilitate the development of better antifungals?
14:30 Elevator Talks
James Griffiths: IL-1: A central mediator in Candida immunity
David Peters: Silencing of innate immunity by Candida albicans
Jonathan Richardson: Solving the Candida conundrum: toxins, vaccines, and host responses
Neil McCarthy: Gamma deltas, guts and bugs
Tom Williams: Modelling cell death responses to Aspergillus fumigatus in cystic fibrosis
Meg Coleman and Richard Wilson: Antifungal stewardship at Imperial College Healthcare
Sarah Laverty: Down-regulation of Aspergillus fumigatus-induced IFNβ and IFN𝝀1 expression in cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial cells is partially rescued by CFTR modulator treatment
Aran Singanayagam: Using human challenge studies to understand the complex microbial interactions that dictate exacerbation severity in chronic lung disease
Jesus Rodriguez Manzano: Novel diagnostics for clinical and point-of-care applications
Bethany McCann: Reverse engineering Aspergillus pH signalling for anti-fungal drug discovery
Highlight Leah Cuthbertson: Machine learning for exploring microbial inter-kingdom associations in cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis
15:30 Coffee Break
15:45 to 16:45 Breakout Sessions
15:45 Breakout Session 1
16:05 Breakout Session 2
16:25 Breakout Session 3
16:45 Wrap up and prizes
17:00 Retire to Beit Quad Union Bar