The fungi that could save (or end) the world

Fungi are nature's ultimate opportunists. They break down the dead, power ecosystems, and gave us penicillin. But the same adaptability that makes them so useful also makes them dangerous: they're developing resistance to treatments, spreading into new climates, and becoming deadlier pathogens.

Kenya Fernandes works at both ends of this contradiction, studying harmful fungal infections and the hidden role of fungi inside bee colonies. This is the story of an organism most of us never think about, which quietly runs the world from underneath our feet.

Bio

Dr Kenya Fernandes is a University of Sydney researcher and microbiologist with an obsession: fungi. She studies how these underappreciated organisms shape the health of our environment, our pollinators, and our bodies. One side of her research tackles deadly fungal infections, investigating natural antimicrobial compounds found in sources like honey to develop new treatments as existing drugs lose their power. The other side lives inside the beehive, examining what the microbiome of a bee colony can tell us about the health of the ecosystems we all depend on.

Event

Thursday 7 May, 6:30 – 7:15 PM @Hermann's Bar, Wentworth Building, Butlin Ave, Camperdown NSW 2050

The other talk at this location is The life-changing cancer preventative in your hands at 8:00 – 8:45 PM