Julian Liber, a PhD candidate in biology at Duke University, collects fungi samples in Black Mountain, N.C., to study how fungal and bacterial microbes spread in the wake of natural disasters.
When Hurricane Helene battered Western North Carolina, it left behind more than flood damage — it created fertile ground for dangerous fungi to thrive. Now, a Duke research team is investigating how post-disaster fungal growth could impact health and recovery efforts in a warming world.