Paul Stamets
Paul Edward Stamets (born July 17, 1955) is an American mycologist and entrepreneur who sells various mushroom products through his company. He is an author and advocate of medicinal fungi and mycoremediation. Early life. Stamets was born in Salem, Ohio. He grew up in Columbiana, Ohio with an older brother, John, his twin brother North, and younger siblings. He graduated from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington with a bachelor's degree in 1979. He began his career in the forest as a logger. He has an honorary doctorate from the National University of Natural Medicine in  Portland. Personal life. Stamets is married to Carolyn "Dusty" Yao. Mycological interest. Stamets credits his late brother, John, with stimulating his interest in mycology, and studied mycology as an undergraduate student. Having no academic training higher than a bachelor's degree, Stamets is largely self-taught in the field of mycology. Paul Stamets received an Invention Ambassador (2014–2015) award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In popular culture. Stamets plays a significant part in the 2019 documentary film "Fantastic Fungi". The character Eldon Stammets on the NBC series "Hannibal" was named after the real Stamets. The  fictional version is a "serial killer who preyed on diabetics and was obsessed with the similarities between the structures of fungi and the human mind." The character Lieutenant Commander Paul Stamets on the CBS series "" was named after the real Stamets. The fictional version is an astromycologist and engineer aboard the "USS Discovery", and is credited with discovering how to navigate a mycelial network in space using a "spore drive".