Yu Fukasawa (Tohoku University, Japan)

Norio Takeshita (University of Tsukuba, Japan)

Norio Takeshita is an Associate Professor at the Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability (MiCS), University of Tsukuba. He received his PhD from the University of Tokyo in 2006. He subsequently conducted research on mycelial growth and signaling, first as a postdoctoral researcher and later as a group leader in the Department of Microbiology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) from 2006 to 2014. His pioneering work on the mechanisms underlying fungal-bacterial mutualistic growth was highlighted in Science.

His website: https://fungalcell.com

Dan V. Nicolau (McGill University, Canada)

Dan Nicolau, the Maria Roy Chair in Bioengineering, who is a Professor in, and the founding Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at McGill University. Dan’s present research aggregates around three themes: (i) biological algorithms and intelligent-like behaviour of microorganisms in confined spaces, which manifests in the process of survival and growth; (ii) biosimulation and biocomputation using motile biological species; and recently (iii) use of microfluidics to mimic medical conditions, especially those triggered by modern invasive medical procedures, such as gas embolism.

His website: https://www.mcgill.ca/bioengineering/dan-nicolau

Nicholas P. Money (Miami University, USA)

Professor Nicholas Money is a fungal biologist, science writer, and professor of biology at Miami University in Ohio. He is an expert on the physics of hyphal growth and explosive mechanisms of spore discharge. His most recent book, “Fungi and Human Life” (Princeton University Press 2025/2026), concerns the significance of the human mycobiome in health and disease. 

His website: http://www.themycologist.com