General Meeting -- Shannon Nix

Join us for our monthly meeting! We gather at the Harvey West Scout House for refreshments and informal mushroom ID from 7:00 – 7:30. Organizers will then provide updates on future forays and other activities, followed by our speakers. Bring along your sense of curiosity and any mushrooms you've found and would like help identifying. 

Shannon Nix presents "Molding Human History: The biology, evidence, and speculation behind mycotoxicoses." Mycotoxins are poisonous secondary metabolites produced by fungi. Under favorable conditions microfungi or molds can proliferate and these toxic compounds can contaminate food and feed crops. If food contaminated with mycotoxins is ingested by humans or animals, severe and occasionally fatal toxicoses of the liver, digestive tract, or kidneys can result. This talk will discuss the biology and history of some of the most potent and important mycotoxins produced by molds.

Nix is an associate professor at Clarion University of Pennsylvania specializing in mycology and microbial ecology. Shannon’s interest in all things fungi was first cultivated as an undergrad at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) in Syracuse, NY. There, she developed a keen interest and passion for the fifth kingdom, receiving training in taxonomy, identification and ecology of micro and macro-fungi by several distinguished mycologists. After receiving her B.S. in Environmental and Forest Biology, Shannon headed for New Jersey and worked as an environmental microbiologist.

Shannon eventually returned to academia to pursue her passion and work with Dr. John Dighton author and professor of fungal ecology at Rutgers University. During this time Shannon was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and spent a year abroad studying micro-fungi at the Agricultural University of Norway. Shannon also did a 2 year post-doc at the University of Georgia (UGA) investigating yeast community structure and dynamics in agricultural systems.