| Paul Stamets | |
| Birth Date: | 17 July 1955 |
| Birth Place: | Salem, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education: | Mercersburg Academy |
| Alma Mater: | The Evergreen State College |
| Subject: | Fungi |
Paul Edward Stamets (born July 17, 1955)[1] 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.
Stamets was born in Salem, Ohio. He grew up in Columbiana, Ohio with an older brother, John, older brother, Bill, an older sister, Lilly, 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 worked as a logger. As of 2013, Stamets was married to Carolyn "Dusty" Yao. He has an honorary doctorate from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland.
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.
Stamets received Bioneers Award from The Collective Heritage Institute in 1998 and the Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology from The North American Mycological Association in 2013. He also received an Invention Ambassador (2014–2015) award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Stamets plays a significant part in the 2019 documentary film Fantastic Fungi, and edited the film’s official companion book, Fantastic Fungi: Expanding Consciousness, Alternative Healing, Environmental Impact.
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".