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Pharmacy, Vet Med assistant professor awarded $2.2M NIH grant to study fungal threats

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology from an immunocompromised AIDS patient with Cryptococcal meningitis, showing yeast forms of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungal infection derived from bird droppings
David A Litman - stock.adobe.com
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Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology from an immunocompromised AIDS patient with Cryptococcal meningitis, showing yeast forms of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungal infection derived from bird droppings

An assistant professor at University of Georgia was awarded a $2.2 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how one rare type of fungus has evolved over time to tolerate heat, infect human hosts and develop resistance to drugs.

Fungal pathogen expert Blake Billmyre from the College of Pharmacy and College of Veterinary Medicine was granted the New Innovator Award from the NIH to focus on determining what led to cryptococcus, a fungus naturally found in the environment, surviving at higher temperatures by identifying the genes required for this evolution. That information may help researchers determine pathways for drugs targeting cryptococcus.

Until relatively recently cryptococcus was considered harmless to people. But for people with compromised immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS, diabetes or cancer, breathing in cryptococcus spores can be deadly.

Billmyre and his team also are exploring the fungi’s evolving resistance to current drug regimens. Drug-resistant strains of cryptococcus are popping up within the warm sub-Saharan region of Africa, leading researchers to question how some of these pathogenic fungi have become more resistant than others.

“Our research will guide us toward a deeper understanding of how to combat drug resistance that will allow us to better treat patients right off the bat,” Billmyre said. “This can completely reshape future treatment of not just cryptococcus but also other fungal infections.”