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Professor Mat Fisher, Head of the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, has become the first-ever recipient of the ‘Spore Award’ and delivered the inaugural Fungal Spore Lecture at the Genetics Society of America’s Fungal Genetics Meeting at Asilomar.

The new lecture series, introduced this year, is designed to spotlight outstanding mid-career scientists while celebrating the scientific and geographical diversity of the global fungal genetics community. The lecture was sponsored by distinguished scientists Jay Dunlap and Jennifer Loros.

In his lecture “The Spore Factory: Evolutionary Experiments in the Anthropocene”, Professor Fisher drew on his extensive research at the One Health interface – a framework that examines the interconnected health of humans, animals and the environment. His work combines genomics, epidemiology and experimental approaches to uncover the forces driving the emergence and spread of fungal infections across humans, wildlife and plants.

At the heart of his address was a stark warning about the consequences of widespread antifungal use and global trade on disease patterns:

“Humanity is conducting one of the largest evolutionary experiments in history…Only now are we beginning to grasp how our impact is reshaping the fungal kingdom upon which the health of our planet depends”

Reflecting on the award, Professor Fisher said: “Presenting the first-ever lecture on ‘The Fungal Spore’ at Asilomar is not only a personal highlight of my career, but also a great honour.”

As Professor of Fungal Disease Epidemiology, he has long been at the forefront of research into emerging fungal threats. This recognition by the Genetics Society of America highlights both the global significance of Professor Fisher’s work and ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's leadership in infectious disease research on the world stage.