Speaker: Craig Ennis, University of California, Merced
Abstract
Genetic Control of Antifungal Resistance in Candida albicans
Candida albicans is the most common fungal species of humans, residing on the skin, in the gut, and in the oral cavity of humans. In most individuals, C. albicans exists as a commensal, interacting with other local microbes, and causing no harm to the human host. However, in individuals with compromised immune systems, C. albicans can cause life-threatening disseminated infections, and is known to be the predominant fungal pathogen of humans. As a means of causing infections, C. albicans forms biofilms, occurring on the surface of implanted medical devices and human tissues. Once developed, biofilm infections are difficult for the immune system to clear. They are highly resistant to antifungal agents, and are more resistant to antifungal treatment compared to planktonic cells. The mechanisms controlling this resistance are poorly understood.
In this webinar, Craig will discuss how his lab has screened a comprehensive library of transcription factor deletion mutants to identify several novel regulators of biofilm resistance in C. albicans. This genetic screen coupled with microfluidic experiments using the BioFlux 1000z system have furthered the understanding of biofilm development and how these microbial communities resist antifungal treatment.
Craig is a NIH Predoctoral Fellow working towards a PhD at the University of California, Merced. Craig started in the Quantitative and Systems Biology graduate program and joined Dr. Clarissa Nobile's lab a few years back. His doctoral research focus is on the unique resistance mechanisms associated with biofilms. Using Candida albicans, a commensal yeast of the human microbiota and the most common human fungal pathogen, he is exploring biofilm-specific resistance mechanisms with the BioFlux 1000z system.