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 2026 for a seminar programme highlighting the work of Early Career Researchers.
Seminar | ECR Talks | 12:00– 13:00 | Thursday 19th November
📍G47, Flowers Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ find us at Map/3A
- In-person & 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.
Schedule
11:30
Arrivals & refreshments
11:55
Teams link opens for online attendees
12:00-12:05
Introductions & Network overview (Prof. Darius Armstrong-James)
12:05-13.05
SPEAKER PROGRAMME:
Biotechnology and engineering
Dr Cinzia Klemm (Rodrigo Ledesma Amaro lab (RLA), Department of Bioengineering)
Not just Average: Single-Cell Tools for Microbial Bioengineering
Microbial populations are often treated as homogeneous systems, yet individual cells can differ dramatically in their physiology, metabolism, and production potential. This talk explores how single-cell tools can uncover stress adaptation and cellular heterogeneity to design more robust, high-yielding microbial cell factories. Drawing on work spanning proteome-wide phenotyping using fluorescent protein libraries to label-free single-cell Ramanomics, I will discuss emerging approaches to identify, characterise, and isolate high-performing cell populations for biotechnology.
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Pathogenesis of fungal diseases
Sam Hemmings (Fisher Lab, School of Public Health)
Diversity analysis of indoor and outdoor fungal bioaerosols in UK households: a prospective, observational, longitudinal study
In this talk, Sam will discuss his work, recently published in The Lancet Microbe, investigating airborne fungal communities in 118 homes across North-West London over nearly two years. He will explore fungal diversity, seasonal variation, and potential links between indoor fungi, respiratory health, environmental factors, and other airborne pollutants.
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Ecology, evolution and the environment
Alice Day (Fisher Lab, School of Public Health)
Harnessing the soil mycobiome for sustainable crop production
How do agricultural management and fungicide application shape the soil mycobiome, and how can we use these insights to inform effective restoration? In this talk, I will explore how ITS2 metabarcoding can reveal the effects of agricultural management and fungicide use on soil fungal communities and crop growth. I will then demonstrate how we can go one step further, using statistical approaches to identify robust predictors of crop performance and potential targets for agricultural restoration.
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13:05
Close
Researchers interested in the Network can find more information and join the Network via the dedicated website / Follow us @ImperialFungal (BlueSky; X/Twitter)