Hidden Drivers of Change: Fungi, Viruses and the Future of Ecosystems

Professor Diane Purchase

Professor of Environmental Biotechnology, Middlesex University

Diane is a Professor of Environmental Biotechnology. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institution of Environmental Sciences, and a Titular Member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Diane has been a Trustee of  Applied Microbiology International from 2023 to 2026 and a member of their Advisory Group on Health Lands. She is the president-elect of the Chemistry and the Environment Division at the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

As a Professor of Environmental Biotechnology with over 30 years' experience in the field, in particular researching the role of microorganisms in protecting the environment, she is keen to make a meaningful contribution to raise awareness of microorganisms and the environment. She has published over 150 articles.

Diane is a member of the editorial boards of the following international journals published by Springer:

Environmental Geochemistry and Health (Co-Editor-in-Chief)Environmental Science and Pollution Research (Associate Editor)

She is also on the editorial board of The Biologist, published by the Royal Society of Biology.

Professor Polona Zalar

Associate Professor of Microbiology, University of Ljubljana

Polona Zalar is an Associate Professor of Microbiology at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, where she teaches courses in general microbiology and mycology. She leads the Molecular Biology of Microorganisms research program and has been actively engaged in fungal taxonomy and ecology throughout her career.

She earned her B.Sc. in 1995, M.Sc. in 1999, and Ph.D. in 2006, all from the University of Ljubljana. Her expertise in fungal taxonomy was further deepened through specialized training at the IMI–International Mycological Institute in Egham, UK (now CABI UK Centre), the CBS–Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures in Utrecht, the Netherlands (now Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute), and through mentorship by renowned mycologists.

Dr. Zalar has authored numerous research articles, with a particular focus on the discovery and classification of novel fungal taxa from extreme environments, such as natural saline habitats and Arctic subglacial ecosystems. Her current research emphasizes xerophilic fungi, especially those involved in the biodeterioration of cultural heritage. In this area, she has led two national research projects addressing mold contamination in museum collections and has contributed to several additional initiatives exploring fungal biodiversity.

Claudia Coleine

Microbial Ecologist , Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville (IRNAS), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

Claudia Coleine is a microbial ecologist at IRNAS-CSIC in Seville, Spain. Her research focuses on fungal diversity, ecology and genomic adaptation in extreme environments, from Antarctic rocks to global drylands, and on microbial responses to global change. She combines field surveys, environmental sequencing, comparative genomics and ecological modelling to investigate how environmental constraints shape microbial communities. She previously held an assistant professorship at the University of Tuscia and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship, including research at the University of California, Riverside. She founded and coordinates ROCKFUN, an international network involving more than 50 research groups, and serves on the editorial board of FEMS Microbiology Reviews.

Christina Hazard

Research Scientist, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Christina Hazard is a Research Scientist at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and leads a research group at Lyon 1 Université Claude Bernard. Her research illuminates the hidden world of soil microorganisms and their viruses, revealing how their interactions underpin soil health, shape biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functioning, and influence the transformation and loss of nitrogen-based fertilizers. By integrating field and laboratory experimentation with cutting-edge meta-omic and cultivation approaches, she investigates key microbial functional groups. Her work aims to translate fundamental discovery into actionable knowledge to promote healthy soils while mitigating environmental nitrogen pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Kyle Mason-Jones

Junior Professor of Soil Microbial Interactions, University of Tübingen

Kyle Mason-Jones completed his PhD at the University of Göttingen with a focus on the rhizosphere priming effect on soil organic carbon. His interest in soil organic carbon continued in the Netherlands, where he investigated management effects on soil health and function, including climate protection. There, the role of viruses in the soil carbon cycle expanded into a significant research interest, which has continued following his return to Germany as Junior Professor of Soil Microbial Interactions at the University of Tübingen. His research group is supported by a prestigious Emmy Noether grant for the project “The devil in the details: Phage microhabitats as drivers of soil biogeochemistry”. Research lines in the group also incorporate microbial cooperation, microbial movement ecology, and intracellular carbon storage dynamics in soil.