Adams Offers Cap-tivating Mushroom Outreach

Cat Adams, a research scientist in Biosciences senior scientist Trent Northen’s group, kicked off a busy season of public outreach with a keynote reprising her 2022 BioEPIC Slam-winning talk, “Funky Fungal Farts,” at the Mycological Society of San Francisco’s (MSSF)’s Mendocino Mushroom Camp in November 2024. In her talk, Adams discussed her postdoc work examining how fungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) affect bacteria. Yes, the same VOCs that one might air out after unwrapping a new foam mattress topper. Apparently fungi produce them too, and Adams discovered over the course of her postdoc that these VOCs inhibit a variety of beneficial bacteria.

Person wearing a colorful shirt and overalls covered in mushrooms stands in front of a projector screen, which features a black and white illustration of fungi and displays the text "Fungi Through Time, Point Reyes Fungus Fair, January 12, 2025." — Adams presented another talk, “Fungi Through Time,” which featured vignettes about the role of fungi in historically important moments, at two events in January 2025: the Bay Area Mycological Society (BAMS) / Point Reyes National Seashore Fungus Fairand the Sonoma County Mycological Association (SOMA) Wild Mushroom Camp.

For Adams, sharing her work with public audiences, particularly, those who share her fascination with fungi, is intrinsically rewarding.

“A whole range of people show up to these events. There’s a great sense of community, and I get questions that are insightful and useful to my research,” Adams said. “It gives me new ideas. And it’s fun, regardless of the utility.”

Adams also loves participating in the pre-fair mushroom forays, wherein volunteers gather as many different species of fungi as possible for display at the fair. Specialists like Adams, who can identify different specimens, are particularly valuable for helping to curate the species lists.

Person wearing a brightly-colored shirt stands behind a table covered in mushroom specimens and discusses the specimens with people on the other side of the table. — Adams discusses the mushroom specimens on display with members of the public at the Mycological Society of San Francisco’s Fungus Fair this past November. (Credit: Maria Pham)

Another favorite part of these events for Adams is the chance for direct interaction with the fungi-interested public.

“They get to meet a scientist, which not everybody has done, and see that I’m just a normal person,” reflected Adams.

Beyond the value of putting her face out there, there are key messages that Adams wants to convey to the public with her outreach efforts. In a recent Cell Voices piece, she made the case that not all fungi are bad guys.

“There’s definitely the impression that fungi are villains,” Adams said. “Some of them certainly do cause disease, but fungi also help plants grow, provide food for us, and break down nutrients in the forest. There are all sorts of things fungi do that are important for the planet and for us.”