The 2026 IFS annual conference will be held on Tuesday 16th June at Maynooth University. Early bird registration is now open here, for a reduced fee of €75 per person. After 15th May the registration fee will be €100. The abstract submission portal is open here, with a submission deadline of 1st May 2026.

We are delighted to announce five fantastic invited speakers for the conference:

• Prof. Kevin Kavanagh (Maynooth University): Kevin is a microbiologist specialising in fungal pathogenesis and host–pathogen interactions, using model systems to study Aspergillus fumigatus. The provisional title for his lecture is “Unravelling Aspergillus fumigatus infection strategies using model systems.”
• Prof. Alida Fe Talento (CHI, RCSI, TCD): Alida is a consultant microbiologist focused on invasive fungal infections and antifungal resistance, leading Irish work on A. fumigatus resistance surveillance. The provisional title for her lecture is “A. fumigatus resistance: results from GAP-AFR.”
• Dr Olga Lastovetsky (UCD): Olga is a researcher investigating bacterial endosymbionts of fungi and their role in fungal biology and evolution. The provisional title for her lecture is “Bacterial Endosymbionts of Fungi.”
• Dr Mihailo Mirkovic (University of Galway): Mihailo is a scientist studying chromosome instability and cellular stress responses in genome regulation and adaptation. The provisional title for his lecture is “Chromosome instability in times of stress: A feature or a bug?”
• Prof. Rebecca Drummond (University of Birmingham): Rebecca is an immunologist researching host immune responses to fungal infections, including neuroinvasive fungal disease. The provisional title for her lecture is “Fungi on the Brain.”
• Dr Rebecca Gorton (Health Services Laboratories, UK): Rebecca is a clinical scientist specialising in fungal diagnostics and the implementation of advanced laboratory detection methods. The provisional title for her lecture is “Fungal Diagnostics.”

The Irish Fungal Society are grateful to the generous sponsors who provide funding.

 

For details of previous meetings: For the 2025 meeting click here, for the 2024 meeting click here, and for the 2023 meeting, click here.