Ruth D'Urban-Jackson

Ruth D'urban-Jackson is the Lead Mycologist at Biohm. She spearheads fungal research and development and explores the limitless potential of fungi in material development. She holds a BSc in Biology from the University of Bath and an MSc in Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Exeter.

Ruth began her career as a Plant Pathologist specializing in research trials to combat plant diseases in soft fruit, where she began to encounter fungal pathogens, and their ingenious mechanisms for infection. Following this, Ruth worked as a Plant Health Inspector, where she investigated the biosecurity of airfreight produce and became exposed to the vast chains involved in the movement of global commodities and the fungal threats within them.

At Biohm, Ruth switched from viewing fungi as pathogens to unearthing their potential as allies. She now collaborates with fungi’s vast armoury of enzymes, chemical compounds, metabolites, and growth profiles to develop technologies that can have transformative positive effects on the world.

For Ruth, being close to nature reminds us that life just goes on, that humans are but a small part of the natural world and holding this ethos can guide us to a more harmonious existence that is deeply needed in the tumultuous present we inhabit.

Outside of Biohm, Ruth enjoys rugby, carpentry, music, and foraging. She can often be found walking through forests, identifying plants and fungi, and immersing herself in the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. If reincarnated as a nonhuman natural system, she would choose to be a protected forest and wild pasture, a sanctuary where fungal networks and their connected world above can thrive, undisturbed.

Ruth's roots trace back to Cape Town, South Africa, where she spent her early years in the trees and observing dung beetles and guineafowl. Emigrating to a village in southern England as a child, she carries with her an inquisitive perspective on natural, societal, and economic systems and a curiosity to keep learning about our world.