Mission
Discovery of novel and repurposed antifungal drugs to treat life-threatening invasive fungal infections
Lee Lab
Key areas of focus
- Antifungal drug discovery
- Studies of Candida albicans biofilms
- Studies of Candida auris biofilms
- Previous work focused on the molecular pathogenesis of invasive candidiasis
Lab team
- Samuel Lee, MD, Ph.D.: Principal Investigator
- Travis Stewart: Staff Research Associate
- Hanna Polgar: Research Associate
- Sarah Cunningham: Graduate Research Assistant
Notable research findings
Our lab is engaged in translational research on novel antifungal therapies and treatment approaches against biofilm formation in Candida species, including drug repurposing, high-throughput screening of small molecule compound libraries, and studies of antifungal lock therapies for prevention of catheter-associated infections. In these studies, we have identified certain repurposed agents and natural compounds that have excellent activity against Candida biofilms.
Previously, we investigated the trafficking pathways that mediate secretion and virulence in C. albicans. Early work defined how the general secretory and pre-vacuolar (VPS) pathways regulate the export of key virulence factors. We showed that disruption of these pathways impairs filamentation, biofilm formation, and pathogenicity in vivo. We expanded this work to explore the role of exocyst-mediated secretion and endocytosis in C. albicans morphogenesis, cell wall integrity, and tissue invasion. These studies highlight intracellular trafficking as a central component of fungal pathogenesis.
Equipment, technology and techniques
- XTT assay for studying Candida biofilms
- Dose-response curves
- Checkerboard assays
- Microscopy