Mark is an Associate Professor in Molecular Microbiology at the University of Exeter and is the Head of Training in Medical Mycology within the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology with responsibility for all aspects of mycology teaching from undergraduate to doctoral training. He has a long-standing interest in all aspects of mycology from the field to the lab, with expertise in fungal programmed cell death and stress responses and the interactions of fungi with their hosts. He has been involved in many public mycology events and is a keen (and always learning) forayer.
Alex is originally from Buffalo, New York, and is currently living in London and working for Kew Mycology. She has an MSc in Plant and Fungal Taxonomy. Working for the Darwin Tree of Life project has given her the opportunity to learn about UK fungal diversity, and participate in BMS field meetings. She has experience in culturing, DNA barcoding, and microscopy. Alex particularly loves small discomycetes and bird's nest fungi. She has lead lab tours at Kew and enjoys participating in public outreach.
Cameron lives in Kinross-shire and is part of a close-knit team that runs the Edinburgh & Lothians Fungus Enthusiasts, a wonderful group of both professional and amateur mycologists. In addition, he is one of several mycologists who support events that encourage members of the various Scottish Fungus groups to meet up, share knowledge and make new friends. Cameron has a particular fondness for fungi that are not 'top of the agenda' on forays such as the smaller Ascomycota, Hyphomycetes and those that were once classed as Zygomycota. He is also rather fond of gasteroid fungi. Cameron's other area of interest is adult learning (this is his 'day-job'), the result of which, with support from fellow mycologists, he regularly offers mycological learning opportunities to our local groups.
Christian Taylor is a fungal ecologist and biology teacher based in Exeter specialising in the relationships between fungi and insects. He has studied fungi in Canada, India and in the UK as part of his PhD research project which he carried out at the University of Bath. Christian works for The Open University teaching ecological, biological and environmental sciences. He also enjoys leading and participating in fungal forays when the opportunity arises.
Ethan Henderson is currently based in the north-east of the UK. He manages the annual UK Fungus Day photography competition and the UK Fungus Day Instagram account to help raise awareness and promote fungi to the public.
Dr Evelina Basenko (University of Liverpool) is a senior Scientific Outreach and Education Specialist with FungiDB.org, a free online bioinformatics resource for fungal and oomycete species.
Gary's background is mainly in agriculture and farm and exotic livestock, particularly as an elephant keeper in Chester Zoo. He worked for Gareth Griffith at Aberystwyth University on the conservation and ecology of waxcap and other CHEG fungi and also isolating rumen fungal species. Gary is now retired and is a member of Devon Fungus Group. He aims to get UK Fungus Day mentioned on The Archers one day!
Lynne Boddy is Professor of Fungal Ecology at Cardiff University. She has taught and researched into the ecology of fungi associated with trees and wood decomposition for 45 years. She is a prolific author having written or edited 9 books, including “Fungi and Trees: their Complex Relationships”, and has published over 300 scientific papers. She was president of the British Mycological Society 2009 - 2010. Lynne is an ardent communicator of science to the general public including TV, radio, popular talks, videos, articles and exhibitions. She was awarded an MBE in 2019 for Services to Mycology and Science Outreach.
