Summit
4 Jun 2026
The Fleming Initiative will host its second Science Summit, Fungal disease and antifungal resistance, on 4 June 2026 at the Royal Institution.
The Fleming Initiative will host its second Science Summit, Fungal Disease and Antifungal Resistance, on 4 June 2026 at the Royal Institution.
The Summit will bring together researchers leading cutting-edge science, clinicians, and key stakeholders from across the UK and around the world to explore the challenges and opportunities in the field, while helping to build momentum for future collaboration and innovation.
The programme will cover mechanisms of pathogenesis, resistance, and host interaction; drug discovery and therapeutics; and global and One Health perspectives. The day will conclude with two panels, one chaired by Professor Dame Sally Davies, on the critical next steps in this field.
A full agenda is below. Please note that this event is invite-only. Contact our team via fleming-events@imperial.ac.uk for more information.
Time | Session | Speaker |
08:30Â - 09:30 | Registration & Coffee | |
09:30 - 11:00 | Opening session Chair and MC: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
09:30 - 09:40 | Welcome | Prof. Alison Holmes OBE Fleming Initiative |
09:40Â - 10:15 | Plenary: The state of antifungal: Threat and Opportunity | Prof. Neil Gow FRS University of Exeter and Prof. Matthew Fisher Imperial College London |
10:15 - 10:50 | Plenary: Fungal immunotherapies and Precision Medicine | Dr Jonathan Golob GSK and Prof. Darius Armstrong-James Imperial College London |
10:50 – 11:00 | Q&A with all speakers Chair: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
11:00 – 11:15 | Coffee Break | |
11:15 - 12:15 | Session 1: Mechanisms of pathogenesis, resistance, and host interaction Chair and MC: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
11:15Â - 11:35 | Evolution and mechanisms of resistance to existing and novel antifungals | Prof. Michael Bromley University of Manchester Dr Michael Bottery University of Manchester |
11:35 – 11:50 | Fungal adaptation and the host | Prof. Elaine Bignell University of Exeter |
11:50 – 12:05 | Fungal plant pathogens through a genomics lens | Prof. Sophien Kamoun FRS Sainsbury Lab |
12:05 – 12:15 | Q&A with all speakers Chair: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
12.15 - 13.15 | Lunch and Networking | |
13:15Â - 14:30 | Session 2: Drug discovery and therapeutics Chair and MC: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
13:15 – 13:30 | State of the art in antifungal drug discovery | Dr Sonja Billerbeck Imperial College London |
13:30 – 13:45 | Functional genomics, chemical biology and drug discovery | Dr Matthew Child Imperial College London |
13:45- 14:00 | Pathways to new and improved antifungal agents | Prof. Jason Micklefield Imperial College London |
14:00 - 14:15 | Pharmacokinetics and -pharmacodynamics of antifungal agents | Dr Haifa Lyster Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust |
14:15 - 14:30 | Q&AÂ with all speakers Chair: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
14:30 – 14:45 | Coffee Break | |
14:45 – 16:00 | Session 3: Global perspectives Chair and MC: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
14:45 - 15:00 | Managing the threat of Candida auris in healthcare | Dr Jonathan Otter Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust |
15:00 - 15:15 | Hotspots of environmental antifungal resistance | Dr Harry Chown Imperial College London |
15:15 - 15:30 | Innovation and the Southeast Asian Network | Dr Vasin (Paul) Vasikasin Phramongkutklao Hospital, and Phramongkutklao College of Medicine, Thailand; and Imperial College London |
15:30 - 15:45 | Fungal disease and the immunosuppressed – a Latin American challenge | Prof. Silvia Costa University of São Paulo |
15:45 – 16:00 | Q&A with all speakers Chair: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
16:00 – 16:10 | Coffee Break | |
16:10 – 17:30 | Session 4: Fungal infection and One Health Chair and MC: Vivienne Parry OBE | |
16:10 – 16:50 | Panel: Reflections and Next steps | Chair: Dame Sally Davies with Dr John Rex Chief Medical Officer, F2G, Ltd. Dr Ghada Zoubiane Lifearc Prof. Carol Munro University of Aberdeen Candice King Patient Representative |
16:50 - 17:25 | Panel: Critical Global Perspectives  | Chair: Vivienne Parry OBE with Prof. David Aanensen University of Oxford Dr Alex Tasker University of Bristol Dr Aula Abbara Imperial College London Prof. Tihana Bicanic City St. George’s University of London |
17:25 – 17:30 | Closing Remarks | Prof. Alison Holmes OBE Fleming Initiative |
17.30 - 19.00 | Reception | |