FABI was well represented at the 32^nd Fungal Genetics Conference at the Asilomar Conference Centre on the Monterey Peninsula during the week of 11 March.  The team included Profs Mike and Brenda Wingfield, Drs Janneke Aylward, Nam Pham, Markus Wilken, Andi Wilson, Neriman Yilmaz and MSc student, Taygen Fuchs, joined some 900 mycologists from many parts of the world who gathered to share knowledge and develop collaborations regarding the genetics of fungi.  The conference was preceded by various international workshops including those on Fusarium, Aspergillus and the Dothideomycetes, meaning that some of the FABIans found themselves rushing across conference grounds to attend various presentations. All members of the group had posters and presentations at the meeting, providing excellent opportunities to engage closely with other researchers.  Other than the outstanding scientific findings presented at the meeting, it was interesting to gather in an area that was heavily forested with Pinus radiata (Monterey pine) until the onset of the pine pitch canker disease caused by Fusarium circinatum in 1992 that has reduced the forest to small fraction of what it was only 20 years ago.