The Imperial Fungal Science Network is a hub for the mycology community, providing a leadership, advocacy and communications platform for mycologists and a developmental framework for future leaders in fungal research. We welcome you to the Imperial Fungal Science Network – Seminar Series 2025.
Seminar | 15:30– 16:30 on Thursday 3rd July
📍G47, Flowers Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ find us at Map/3A
- In-person or join online (via Teams, click ‘Livestream’ button on LHS)
- No registration required
- This is a hybrid event to ensure that our non-London members/audience can join for the talks remotely; if you are joining us via the Teams link, please be aware that your email contact may show up to other meeting attendees, please join using an organisation email contact where possible, thanks.
Scientific Programme
15:00/Arrivals & refreshments (tea/coffee)
15.25/Teams link opens for online attendees
15:30 – 15:35
Introductions & Network overview (Prof. Darius Armstrong-James)
Talks:
15:35 – 16:05
Keynote Speaker
Prof. Sophien Kamoun (The Sainsbury Laboratory)
Think. Evolutionary. Transitions.
In recent years, my lab — or perhaps it’s just me — has become increasingly obsessed with evolutionary transitions: the idea that every gene has an origin and an evolutionary journey marked by gain, loss, or shifts in function. In this talk, I will explore how this perspective applies to the study of filamentous plant pathogens — fungi and oomycetes. Though phylogenetically distant, they share striking similarities in morphology and lifestyle: both are filamentous, heterotrophic, and notoriously adaptable. Their ability to evade plant immunity and shift hosts makes them ideal models for studying the evolutionary arms race between pathogens and plants. I’ll also highlight how plant-pathogen coevolution has shaped — and continues to reshape —mechanisms of plant immunity.
16:05 – 16:20
Cristina Vuolo (Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London)
Dissecting recognition of fungal virulence factors by plant cell-surface immune receptors
I am a first year PhD student in Dr Tolga Bozkurt’s lab, which focuses on dissecting the many intricacies of plant-pathogen interactions. My research interests centre on how plants recognise invading pathogens and trigger defence responses. In this talk, I will present current work investigating the mechanisms by which plant cell-surface receptors mediate immunity against fungal plant pathogens.
16:20 – 16:35
Dr Tom Williams (Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London)
Investigating Fungal Airway Disease Through the Use of Murine Repeat Challenge Models
I am an early career researcher at Imperial College, working with Prof. Darius Armstrong-James whose group focuses on the biological properties and immune responses to the opportunistic pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. My primary research area of interest is in understanding how the fungi that we are exposed to everyday impact our immune system. In this talk I will outline repeat challenge models of fungal exposure highlighting the immunological and transcriptomics responses. Finally, I will demonstrate how these models can be employed to investigate immunological pathways, respiratory disease and co-infection.
16:35/Close
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Researchers interested in the Network can find more information and join the Network via the dedicated website / Follow us @ImperialFungal