The Second International Conference on Mycology in MENA (ICM-2018)
Arab Society of Fungal Conservation (ASFC), COMSTECH, Egyptian Syndicate of Scientific Professions, and the National Academy of Science & Research Technology (ASRT), in collaboration with Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZ), Suez Canal University (SCU), and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) organized the 2nd International Conference on Mycology in the Middle East and North of Africa (MENA) on 16–18 October 2018 at the Suez Canal University Conference main Hall in Ismailia.
Click here to download Abstract Book
The International Conference on Mycology in MENA (ICM-2018) is the 2nd in an ongoing series of international conferences on Mycology, Fungi and Fungal Biology of Arab Society for Fungal Conservation. The conference aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results about all aspects of Mycology, Fungi and Fungal Biology. This conference is dedicated to the Memory of the late. Professor Abdel-Aal H. Moubasher (Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University) the God father of mycology in Egypt and Arab world. The conference dedicated two wooden trophies one for the name of late professor Abdel-Aal H. Moubasher and the other to the professor Waseem ElSeesy.
Over 250 participants (200 registered full delegates and around 50 accompanying persons) from 11 different countries, representing all regions of the world attended the ICM-2018, including Bangladesh, Brazil, Germany, India, Iraq, Italy, Malta , Pakistan, Switzerland, USA and Egypt. The theme was “Fungi in a changing World”, encompassing topics such as Bacterial-fungal interactions, beneficial and harmful effects, climate changes, clinical mycology, enzymes and their types, food mycology, fungal biotechnology, fungi and cultural heritage, fungal diversity and conservation, fungal identification and quantification, fungal immunology, fungal pathogens, fungi and ecosystem functioning, industrial mycology, lichens, medical mycology, mycotoxicology, structure and mode of nutrition, Systematics, phylogeny and evolution, and veterinary mycology.
The main conference consisted of one keynote lecture, six plenary lectures, and nearly 5 invited papers. There were 40 oral presentations and 25 scientific posters. The keynote lecture was by Waseem ElSeesy (Egypt) and entitled “Medicine in ancient Egypt”. The Six plenary speakers were: Ahmed Abdel-Azeem (Egypt), Andreas Bruder (Switzerland), Bhim Singh (India), Cristina Giovanna Varese (Italy), Michael Weiß (Germany), and Zakaria Baka (Egypt). In addition, Cristina Giovanna Varese (Italy) gave a workshop on the Thursday morning titled” Marine Fungi: the missing tile in the Ocean Biodiversity mosaic”.
The conference programme achieved its aim of encouraging ongoing international exchange and regional networking, especially among countries in Mediterranean, fostering exchange of expertise and learning through active participation, and stressing the relevance of mycology to current issues.
Additional information and conference abstract book can be downloaded at the ICM-2018 website
Six prizes were awarded during the conference as follow:
1- Best ASFC’s poster prize.
2- Best ASFC’s research by undergraduate Student prize.
3- Best MBZ’s bioprospecting & sustainable conservation prize.
4- Young Mycologist Award in Comstech’s awarded to outstanding mycologists early in their career.
5- BEST Al-Khafagy’ Prize (Fungal Biotechnology in Food Production).
6- BEST Al-Khafagy’ Prize (Fungal Biotechnology in DRUG Production).
Ahmed Abdel-Azeem
President of ASFC
(zemo3000@yahoo.com)
