5th & 6th of April 2025
VENUE: Stanton House Hotel
Stanton Fitzwarren, Wiltshire, SN6 7SD
United Kingdom
The study of the medicinal properties of fungi is a rapidly growing and diversifying field of interest areas that encompasses traditional medicine systems such as herbal medicine and TCM, farming and foraging practices, community healthcare and nutrition, as well as genetics, immunology, pharmacology and biomedicine. Celebrate the world of medicinal mushrooms with us at this year’s 8th UKI Medicinal Mushrooms Conference, where we bring together a team of inspirational speakers, practitioners and researchers from many diverse backgrounds, to explore the cutting edge of new research in the spirit of shared discovery, sowing the seeds of new ideas that will inspire us all for years to come!
The edible snowy waxcap, Cuphophyllus virgineus, is nowadays known to have a symbiotic relationship with the medicinal plant, ribwort plantain, valued for its astringent, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties.
Ribwort plantain, Plantago lanceolata, from Sowerby’s English Botany, 1863
- Enquiries & ticket sales: Please email beesandmushrooms@gmail.com
Full 2 day event £225.00.
UKIMPR Member, eligible student or unwaged household £185.00.
Ticket price includes all talks & workshops plus tea & coffee, but does not include accommodation and food.
THIS YEAR’S TALKS & DEMONSTRATIONS:
Dr. christopher hobbs, PhD, L.Ac., R.H.
clinical herbalist and author
Mushroom Medicine: Latest News, Science, Product Controversies,
and Therapeutic Uses
Author of Medicinal Mushrooms, the Essential Guide (2021), Dr. Hobbs will discuss the historical and modern uses of the most important fungal species for medicine, and their place in self-care, modern integrative health care and medical clinics. As a powerhouse of nutrition, mushrooms rate among the highest fiber foods, and recent research on their benefits as prebiotics for helping to increase microbial diversity will also be reviewed.
Signed copies of Dr. Christopher Hobbs recent book:
“Christopher Hobbs’s Medicinal Mushrooms, the Essential Guide,” will be available for purchase from the Foyer market area at the conference. (Click to go to the book page on Amazon).
Website: //www.christopherhobbs.com
kaz goodweather, clinical herbalist and co-author of the sensory herbal handbook / poison prescriptions
clinical treatments of individuals diagnosed with prostate cancer: Case studies of medicinal mushrooms in practice
This presentation will focus on the clinical treatment of two individuals diagnosed with prostate cancer, highlighting the integration of medicinal mushrooms – specifically reishi and turkey tail – as a part of the therapeutic approach. Through these case studies, Kaz will examine the potential benefits of incorporating these powerful fungi into the treatment regimen for prostate cancer patients.
dr. Ayman Daba, Board-Certified Clinical Lab Director, Fungal Biochemist
The Hidden Healers: Unlocking the Medicinal Powers of Mushroom Polysaccharides for Liver Protection, Atherosclerosis Prevention, and Cancer Therapy
Dr. Ayman Daba’s presentation will delve into the medicinal value of mushroom polysaccharides, with a focus on their hepatoprotective effects, potential for preventing atherosclerosis through cholesterol regulation, and their therapeutic roles in the treatment of mammary carcinoma. Drawing from his extensive experience as a fungal biochemist and clinical lab director, Dr. Daba will explore how bioactive compounds from medicinal mushrooms help prevent the buildup of plaque in arteries, a key factor in atherosclerosis. His talk will also cover the promising applications of mushroom polysaccharides in liver protection and cancer therapy, demonstrating their broad therapeutic potential.
Dr. Ayman Daba has worked in the field of exploring mushrooms as anti-cancer therapeutics for 32 years and has had 25 peer reviewed papers published on this subject. This talk will discuss the methodologies employed and some of the discoveries that have been made over this period, as well as highlighting the need for more research.
Dr. Ayman Daba is a Board-Certified Clinical Laboratory Director and an accomplished fungal biochemist with extensive experience in medicinal mushroom research. He serves as the Director of Analytical Operations at Doctors Data, a clinical laboratory in Chicago , where he applies his expertise in laboratory science. Dr. Daba is also a former Fulbright Scholar, further emphasizing his international recognition in the field. A member of the International Medicinal Mushroom Conference, he has dedicated much of his career to exploring the therapeutic potential of mushroom polysaccharides, with research spanning liver health, cardiovascular protection against atherosclerosis, and cancer treatments
Website: //themushroommedicineman.com/
Fred GilLam, herbal medicine practitioner, founder of the UKI Mycotherapy practitioners register
on the trail of ergothioneine
A lot has been written about ergothioneine, the unique amino acid that originates only in mushrooms and cyanobacteria. All mushrooms are a source of ergothioneine and the fungi themselves appear to use it to prevent toxicity from the heavy metals that exist in the substrate in which they grow.
Does ergothioneine have specific targets in the human body? Could there be a connection between ergothioneine consumption, inflammation and rates of cancer? If so, what do we know of its effects? With so much still to discover, this talk brings together some of the existing research and looks at what we already know, and what we could potentially be on the road to discover in the near future, about the benefits offered by this ubiquitous compound.
Fred is the founder of the UKI Mycotherapy Practitioners Register and tutor on the course Exploring the Healing Potential of Medicinal Mushrooms. He is the author of Poisonous Plants in Great Britain and a faculty member / occasional lecturer at Excelsior Herbal Apprenticeships / The Plant Medicine School. Fred has delivered papers on ethnobotany to the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, and has had articles on Medicinal Mushrooms published in The Herbalist, NIMH Power of Plants magazine, The Journal of the International Register of Consultant Herbalists, and ‘Mushroom’ magazine. He is a Member of the British Mycological Society, and holds Specialisms in Immunology and Integrative Medicine.
Websites: //www.thewildsideoflife.co.uk / www.ukimpr.ie
julia behrens, medical herbalist & author
fungi to the rescue: how medicinal mushrooms support lyme recovery
In this talk Julia will discuss her treatment approaches to Lyme, which involve a
synergistic combination of herbal medicine, medicinal mushrooms, and strategies for self-care.
With over 20 years of practice, Julia was invited to be part of a Lyme clinic at the Herstmonceux Integrative Health Centre, focusing on holistic approaches to Lyme disease in collaboration with Dr. John Simmons and Tanya Borowski. The clinic’s use of bespoke herbal protocols, patient discussions, and a collaborative care approach attracted clients from all over the world.
Julia Behrens has taught at the School of Herbal Medicine, East London, Westminster and Queen’s Universities, and at Plumpton College. She has appeared on Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped, various radio programs, consulted for the World Wildlife Fund and Plantlife, contributed to Neal’s Yard books, and published research.
Julia Behren’s & Daphne Lambert’s book: Lost in Lyme, will also be available for purchase from the Foyer market area at the conference. (Click to go to the book page on Amazon).
Website: //herbal-consultant.com/about/
natascha kenyon-gillam, marketing, branding & communications expert
functional mushrooms: See the truth behind the stories of this multi-billion dollar growth business – or, “if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit!” (W. C. Fields)
Natascha Kenyon-Gillam has almost 3 decades of experience working within marketing, branding and communications for blue-chip companies like British Airways and Virgin Media. Having worked with some of the world’s leading marketing & branding agencies, she is in a unique position to unlock and reveal the hidden untruths behind seemingly simple marketing messages about functional mushrooms. Learn how clever copy-writing can take the innocent buyer on a journey to part with their hard-earned cash, when the purchasing journey is embroidered with illusions, false-claims and charmingly inappropriate citations.
Natascha was an integral part of Richard Branson’s hand-picked 5 person team that created Virgin Media out of the ashes of NTL and Telewest, and was one of the first marketing professionals in the UK to be awarded chartered status by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). She holds a Specialist Award in AI Marketing. With a lifelong interest in holistic medicine, Natascha is a co-founder of the UKI Medicinal Mushrooms Conference and is passionate about medicinal mushrooms. Bringing her extensive corporate experience to the table, Natascha is well placed to evaluate the marketing messages used by business entities to sell their products, capturing the interest of commercial buyers and members of the public alike.
ben gibson, organic medicinal mushroom farmer
working with the mysterious cordyceps mushroom
In this talk Ben will delve into the history of mushroom farming – from its roots in the forests of China and the caves of France through its evolution over the past century. He will give us an insight into the day to day life and work of a mushroom farmer in the UK, and the exciting future of working with Fungi as their cultural significance continues to grow.
Ben is the founder and head mushroom grower at The Fungi Folks; a farm based in South Wales growing a range of gourmet and medicinal fungi with a particular affinity for Cordyceps. His interest in fungi was kindled through exploring the native medicinal mushrooms in the New Forest, and the realisation that he could cultivate many of these species in his bedroom. From this moment, it was a swift descent down the fungal rabbit hole… come and listen to Ben as he shares something of this journey with us!
Website: //thefungifolks.co.uk/
Stars of the show: A selection from the medicinal mushrooms to be found in Britain and Ireland:
(l to r) Liberty cap, Psilocybe semilanceata (taken by Arp – creative commons license 3.0), turkey tail, Trametes versicolor, fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, red-belted polypore, Fomitopsis pinicola.
Sunday afternoon fungus foray
this will be led by the field mycologists present, who will take us on a fungus foray around the large woodland country park that comprise the Stanton Park estate, looking for medicinal fungi.
Note: This will be go ahead subject to appropriate weather conditions for fruiting fungi to be found.
mushroom log inoculation
2 Mushroom Log Inoculation workshops will be facilitated by James Scrivens of Coed Talylan land trust in the Brecon Beacons, Wales.
James uses permaculture design practices and deep-bed log cultivation systems that he has integrated into the sustainable management of the broad-leaved semi-natural woodland where he lives and works daily. James will tell us about the work of creating fungal refugia at the Coed Talylan Land Trust (//coedtalylan.org.uk) and he will teach us all how to inoculate logs with turkey tail mushroom spawn, which we can then take home for fruiting!
speakers’ panel
10 years and 8 conferences later – so what has changed and what will change?
Join our panel of speakers and ask the pertinent questions as we reflect together, collectively, on just what has changed over the past decade. What do we need to do to prepare ourselves, our communities and the people that we serve for the coming years ahead; and what are the unique Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that we face as we enter the second decade of the UKI Medicinal Mushrooms Conference in what seems to be a period of rapid change?
BOOKING YOUR PLACE – WE ARE OPEN FOR BOOKINGS NOW!!
Enquiries & ticket sales: Please email beesandmushrooms@gmail.com
Full delegate ticket £225.00
UKIMPR Member £185.00
Eligible student / fully unwaged household £185.00
Day ticket (limited numbers available) £125.00
Stanton House Hotel, our venue for the conference, is set within 183 acres of mature landscaped parkland and ancient woodland, providing the ideal setting for our Sunday Medicinal Mushroom ID Walk at the conference!
THE FOYER MARKET
Our foyer market will once again have a range of dried mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, mushroom powders, book signings and unique mushroom art & paraphernalia. We regret that we do not allow formulated / processed mushroom medicines for sale for legal reasons.
REFRESHMENTS & FOOD
Tea and coffee will be provided in the scheduled breaks on both days of the conference.
Food is not included in the price of entry to the conference, but the restaurant at the venue will be providing a range of meals to suit all tastes. Orders for meals will be taken in advance during the mid-morning break to allow the kitchen to process them in time, so that the timing of the afternoon programme will not be adversely affected. You are also welcome to bring a packed lunch to consume in the conference hall as an alternative to the regular hotel menu, on either of the days.
Note: Only a limited range of special dietary requirements can be catered for in the restaurant due to the capacity of the kitchen to cater for a large event such as this. Please be patient with the restaurant staff at our special event. Thank you.
ACCOMMODATION
For those who wish to stay at the hotel during the conference, the venue has rooms available at a special conference delegates’ rate. There are also excellent B&B’s and hotels in the locality. Note: All rooms at the venue MUST be vacated by 10.00 AM prompt on the day of departure to avoid an extra day being charged to your bill, and there is a strict no smoking policy inside the venue and hotel rooms.
Kofuki saru no koshikake, the Artist’s fungus,
Ganoderma applanatum
These cousins of the popular reishi mushroom contain more than 400 constituents, including many of the active triterpenes found in reishi. With a long history of medicinal use throughout Asia, including both China and Japan, the properties are regarded as hepatoprotective, immune modulating, anti-allergic, anti-microbial towards notable pathogens, anti-cancer, hypoglycaemic, anti-oxidant and anxiolytic. It is an adaptogen that helps with physical and emotional stress, and promotes restful sleep.
About The UKI Medicinal Mushrooms Conference
New information about fungi that will change the way we look at health and the biology of living systems is emerging at what seems to be an ever increasing rate and an industry has grown up around it. However, the UKI Medicinal Mushrooms Conference is proud to be an independent conference.
We receive no sponsorship and do not promote the products of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical or processed mushroom product manufacturers.
Our mission is to relay current discoveries in the world of medicinal mycology to the grass-roots of health care practitioners, academics, citizen scientists and citizens everywhere, for the combined benefit of humankind and global ecology. Though our speakers may bring their valuable knowledge and experience from the commercial sector with them, we maintain strict independence (unlike some other conferences which can become showcases for product promotion) and thus are able to represent a range of perspectives without fear of pressure from market forces.
Our priority is to promote the spread of credible knowledge about medicinal fungi, throughout society, in a spirit of resourceful usefulness and academic brilliance that will be of benefit to all. We aim to push the envelope of research further, by stimulating new ideas and seeding new directions, so that both humanity and the ecology of the planet may benefit now and in the future.
CPD: For healthcare practitioners, a CPD Certificate of Attendance (15 hours) will be available after the conference, if requested in advance.
