Dr. Cat Adams

Cat Adams (she/her) Hailing from Seattle, Washington, Cat Adams, PhD, is a Research Scientist studying fungal ecology at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She earned her BS in Biology (Ecology and Evolution) from the University of Washington, where she first fell in love with fungi. Cat earned her Master’s with Anne Pringle from Harvard University, studying how wild fungal seed pathogens of wild chili peppers evolved tolerance to spice. Her PhD at UC Berkeley was on the chemical ecology of the death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides. For her postdoc, Cat studied how fungal farts (VOCs) from a root-associated fungus can inhibit bacteria that also live on the plant root. She has a penchant for public outreach and has written for Slate and BBC Earth. On the weekends, Cat enjoys mushroom hunting, cooking with mushrooms, giving guest lectures about mushrooms, and attending mushroom camps.