There is a new volume in The Fungi Sessions!! I loved the first album by Hannah Read that she performed at Fungal Genetics two years ago.
So excited for a part 2 and there are microscope videos of hyphae accompanying the songs in spotify š. šš¶
open.spotify.com/album/5uGh16...
Currently at my first @gsb2026.bsky.social conference! Loving this discussion about QUALITY over quantity - we need more [funding for] fundamental science, b/c thatās what populates our databases that *so*much* microbial eco is based off now.
#GSB2026 #GSB4
Hey thanks @fungalmom.bsky.social !! Hope to run into you IRL if youāre still here!
š thank you Anne Pringle & Soleil Young for highlighting the history of sex/gender in Biology (only since 1974!), the inaccuracy of šā23,000 sexesā, and encouraging us to eliminate anthropocentric gender/sex from non-human biological sciences #fungal26
Yessss š Lauren McIntyreš calling in everyone to thoroughly cite *all* the tools, packages, databases, etc. that we use in our papers. Cite in the refs, not just a web link! #Fungal26
ATTN: everyone at #Fungal26 ! Thursday night is official beach party night!
Jason Stajich on stage welcoming a large crowd of mycologists to the Fungal Genetics Conference in a large wood room at Asilomar Conference Grounds
Woohoo!!! Here we go! Excited for my 5th Fungal Genetics Conference! This is such a special conference for me and Iām so excited for a fun(gal) week with some my favorite fun-guys! #Fungal26 @hyphaltip.bsky.social
Could these strange and under-studied fungi help forests regenerate after wildfires?
Had a fantastic time chatting with mycologists @mofisch.bsky.social, Matt Traxler, and Karen Hughes for this article. š§Ŗ
My department is hiring a non-seed plant assistant professor!! Come join us @ubcbotany.bsky.social! BC has spectacular non-seed plant diversity and I would love to nerd out with a future colleague about all those cute little green guys outside! š pls share!
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31140
Super curious to get everyoneās feedback! Whatchya thinkin??? š
New paper from our lab! ā¤µļø
My fellow profs at šØš¦Canadian universities! Please take a moment to read and sign this letter urging the Federal government to align its economic plans with climate change action and resilience:
sustainabilitydigitalage.org/featured/sus...
My first year has been an epic parade of Firstās. My students, colleagues, mentors, and community 10000% make it worth it, and itās these people that motivate me to get out of bed and get to work every day (okay, some days itās the mushrooms too)! With gratitude, onwards! š
Holy macaroni I am learning A LOT by teaching this class. I truly had no idea how much I didnāt know, but thanks to my mentors for normalizing this humbling sensation. Iām at the beginning of my career. Knowledge builds with time. And I am evermore in awe of my mycological and education elders. š§µ
Iām also learning to teach as a prof for the first time. Iām currently teaching the mycology class that Iāve been dreaming of for 10+ years. I have a decent amount of experience with very similar classes as a former student and TA, but being the prof is totally different and a humbling experience. š§µ
The students in my lab are AWESOME and itās just as much their lab now as it is mine. Progress feels slow at times, but it also feels intentional and good and Iām so excited for these data-driven stories weāre working on to get fleshed out a bit more so we can share them with you all! š§µ
I made sure we had the equipment necessary to culture fungi and maintain my culture collection, and then I hired my first two students (undergrads) to help me get the lab set up while also fleshing out and finishing a project I started as a postdoc. š§µ
Being financially insecure for the majority of my life, it was difficult to spend my precious start-up money at first, and it felt really overwhelming to build an entire lab from scratch. It helped to take it one project and one person at a time. š§µ
ā¦Iām very much still figuring it out, but Iāve started adding things to my calendar like āprepare for meetingā and āreflect on meetingā to force myself to take the time I need to process and remember everything while also forging ahead with good intention. š§µ
Time management is really real. There are so many cool fun things to do, and just plain necessary things that have to get done - and a lot of these come out of nowhere, with little warning (especially as a newPI), and itās up to me to decide whatās important and manage my own timeā¦ š§µ
Iāve stuck with this career path because I am so energized and enamored with the myriad of things an academic can do in any given day/week/month - e.g. reading, writing, teaching, mentoring, forging collaborations, field work, lab work, computational work, attending seminars, traveling, etc. etc. š§µ
The one year anniversary of my arrival at UBC flew by a month ago. Thanks to fellow newPI and former grad school pal @mattolm.bsky.social for reminding me of one of the biggest lessons Iāve learned this past year: *make* time to reflect! Here are some reflections on my first year as a PI & profā¦ š§µ
UPDATE: The 2025-2026 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resources! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
he Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis is seeking applications for a fulltime, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Mycology, with a focus on plant pathogenic, symbiotic, or mycotoxigenic fungi and fungal-like organisms (e.g., oomycetes). We are looking for a highly motivated and creative scientist with a strong background in mycology and/or the biology of fungi and fungal-like organisms that interact with plants. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a world-class, externally funded research program that integrates both fundamental and applied aspects of fungal biology within the context of plant pathology. We welcome applicants pursuing a wide range of research topics related to plant-associated fungi, including but not limited to mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis or symbiosis with plants, population genomics and evolution of fungal plant pathogens, plant-associated fungal microbiomes and plant-microbe interactions, and/or one health approaches to fungal diseases and antifungal resistance. Applicants working in other relevant research areas involving pathogenic, symbiotic, or mycotoxigenic fungi or fungal-like organisms that affect plant health are also encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have significant opportunities for collaboration with faculty in plant pathology, microbiology, genomics, and agricultural sciences, and to contribute to addressing issues of importance to Californiaās agricultural and natural ecosystems. The appointee primary teaching responsibilities will be teaching Introductory Mycology, an upperdivision lab class, and SAS 30, Mushroom, Molds & Society, a general education class for non-majors. Additional graduate and undergraduate teaching responsibilities may be assigned based on departmental needs and the candidateās expertise. The department offers modern instructional facilities, including a newly renovated teaching laboratory.
Please repost -- The Univ. California Davis dept of Plant Pathology is hiring a Fungal biologist / Mycologist
Applications due Dec 1
Application portal: recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07339
Screenshot shows part of the job posting (with alt-text of the same text)
HELP WANTED!
Calling all mycophiles in California, Oregon, Washington, or British Columbia!
My research focuses on Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis, pictured below. I need to collect mushrooms from wild and urban areas across its range.
Plz send mushrooms if you find any! I can pay shipping š šāš«
How is it possible that I only very recently learned about Hexaflexagons?! This is so bamboozlingly delightful! Math is just the coolest.
vimeo.com/147799851
ā¦i feel like to answer these questions I need two datasets from one time-period and area: (1) dataset with a lot of samples at one time-point and then, l (2) a dataset with, ideally, the same number of samples, but spread out across a time series
Testing for community assembly and membership - if youāre simply trying to detect all the organisms in a place, during a period of time - does it matter if you spread out sampling over time vs. space? Will you observe equivalent variation between samples across time vs. across space?
Sun is shining, birds are chirping, and a colleague just gave me a sack of š© (specifically some local alpine rabbit poops) ā¦today is a good day and I officially have the best job ever!
Dear Microbial Ecologists - has anyone directly tested sampling effort spread out over time vs. space? For example, 100 samples collected at a single time-point, vs. 100 samples collected across multiple timepoints (neither time nor space are significant factors for community assembly/dynamics/etc.)