Q: What first sparked your interest in the realm of mycology?
A: The love of nature and all of the creatures has started in my childhood. Mushrooms are the most magical beings for me. Enormous diversity, amazing shapes, colors and mostly the mysterious secrets has sparked my interest. I really like that most of the times they are invisible, but kingdom of fungi plays a really important role in the life of ecosystems and humanity.
Q: What exactly are you researching/working on?
A: I study at a Hungarian University about mushrooms from an ecological and taxonomical view. My PhD topic is “Macrofungi of urban areas”, so I work with mushroom species which can live in human-dominated habitats (gardens, parks, streets, etc..).
I also attend to mushroom cultivation and biofabrication. I’m growing more mushroom strains in the lab and working with mycelium. Probably my most important project is to create environmental friendly mushroom materials from different agricultural and domestic wastes.
Q: What is the purpose of your research/work?
A: My dream is to co-create a new green and much more organic world. I think fungi can be our allies to carry out this dream because in the ecosystems fungi are the recyclers and now, in the age of merchandise, we need that special ability to recycle and transform synthetic to organic again. With mycelium it is possible to make new types of materials what are organic, compostable (or more easily biodegradable) and made from agricultural or domestic wastes. It is really important to replace plastics to sustainable materials for a sustainable world.
Q: What do you like most about working with mushrooms/mycelium?
A: I really like that the realm of mushrooms is really endlessness. You can always find a new amazing fact or knowledge about fungi. Like a never ending story...
