MEDICAL MYCOLOGY: THE UGLY SIDE OF FUNGI

 Speaker: Dr. Becky Buckley

Dr. Buckley has been teaching at Metropolitan State University since 2008. She received her B.S. in Medical Technology from the University of Utah and is a board-certified medical technologist (M.T. A.S.C.P.). She earned her Ph.D. in Cellular, Viral and Molecular Biology from the University of Utah College of Medicine, then completed three years of post-doctoral research training at the University of California at Davis.

Dr. Buckley’s talk, Medical Mycology: The Ugly Side of Fungi, will focus on a few of the most common fungal infections that we see here in the U.S., how they are acquired, how they are diagnosed, how to avoid them, and how they are treated or managed. The talk will focus on macroscopic fungi, some of which you may have heard of, others of which audience members might be likely to encounter. She will give a brief introduction about the forms taken by each of the fungi. Her talk will include histories of local outbreaks and histories of outbreaks.

As indicated in the title, many of these fungal diseases aren’t pretty (though extremely graphic photos will be avoided). Due to a dearth of anti-fungal drugs available for treatment, Dr. Buckley will also discuss the importance of our own immune systems in being able to clear fungal infections.

Over the course of her career, Dr. Buckley has taught for the Centers for Disease Control, Baylor College of Medicine Division of Molecular Virology with a joint appointment in the Cell and Molecular Biology Dept., University of Colorado School of Medicine Dept. of Microbiology and School of Dentistry, and Regis University Dept. of Biology. Dr. Buckley’s research interests began in medical microbiology and later focused on molecular virology. With her background in clinical microbiology, including medical mycology identification, she taught all the medical mycology courses at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

JUNE MEETING

Date: Monday, June 4, 2018
Denver Botanic Gardens – Main Building
Mitchell Hall – Doors open at 7:00 p.m. (Fungi ID, Volunteer Sign-Up, Meet & Greet, Book Table, etc.)
Bring mushrooms for identification at 7:00, meeting starts at 7:30.
7:30 p.m. – Meeting Begins May Topic: Medical Mycology:
The Ugly Side of Fungi

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT 2018 MEETINGS:
Due to the Denver Botanic Garden’s 2018 concert schedule, CMS meetings will NOT be consistently held every second Monday of each month, and several dates are not yet confirmed.

**Check the website and the newsletter for meeting dates and updates.**
Dr. Buckley developed a course in general mycology when she joined the faculty at Metropolitan State University. The course covers medical mycology, fungal taxonomy and structure, the roles fungi play in the ecology of the planet, their interactions with plants, animals and other fungi, their use as biological controls, the metabolites, enzymes, toxins and hallucinogens that are produced by the mushrooms, and the culinary uses of fungi.