Summer news from the Imperial Fungal Science Network

A news roundup of the Summer Term, bringing our Network activities for 24/25 to a close.

The Network continued to feature external speakers as part of the seminar series; to welcome many of our membership for networking at our events;  and to see that our societal engagement output was well established thanks to a growing number of Network volunteers.  

FSN Seminar Series  
We were delighted to host Prof. Sophien Kamoun (The Sainsbury Laboratory) as our Keynote Speaker on 3rd July at the Flowers Building. Prof. Kamoun gave an inspirational talk about co-evolution of fungal pathogens and their plant hosts with a focus on the consequences for plant immunity.  

Thanks to both Dr Tom Williams (ICL) and Cristina Vuolo (ICL) for contributing talks to the programme.  Dr. Wiliams continued the theme of fungal immunity, sharing fascinating insights into the interplay between pathogen and the host in the unique scenario of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, with insights into potential immunotherapeutic solutions.  Cristina Vuolo presented her cutting-edge research on AI-guided structural and functional investigation into how fungi are sensed by plant cell surface immune receptors, demonstrating how computational approaches in combination with wet lab work are advancing our understanding of plant-pathogen recognition mechanisms. 

Public Engagement  
Huge thanks to our Network volunteers for inspiring the public with their expertise and enthusiasm about fungal science.  Our societal engagement endeavours were brought to life at the Great Exhibition Road Festival in June.  There was fungi-inspo at the immersive ‘earthworks’ silent disco, plus visitors to our Network stand learnt about fungal ecosystems at our drawing wall event which featured fungi in the UK’s woodland and agricultural land (a stunning design by the Stanley Lab).  Also, an opportunity to browse and discover 'books featuring fungi' in our mini-picture book library.  In July we transported the ‘drawing wall’ to feature at the Bugs, Birds and Beasts Day at Imperial’s Silwood Campus where more families took the opportunity to sketch and absorb fun facts about the science of fungi.

Upcoming Autumn Term 
We look forward to announcing our next speaker event, plus a ‘work in progress’ talk, which

will both be scheduled on a Thursday slot.  We look forward to keeping in touch by email with our news and events; see our socials @ImperialFungal (BlueSky; X).

Thank you – happy rest of Summer 2025.