This $709,239 Project Grant awarded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), under the Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.846), aims to investigate the mechanisms underlying the unique ability of the emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris to colonize human skin. The research team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) will leverage their expertise in fungal pathogenesis and tissue immunology to:
- Identify the specific factors that allow C. auris to preferentially bind to and colonize hair follicles on the skin,
- Determine how C. auris's triggering of a protective type 1 immune response, rather than the typical type 3 immunity seen with the related fungus C. albicans, enhances its skin colonization, and
- Elucidate the intersection between fungal virulence mechanisms and skin immune pathways that enable C. auris's extraordinary capacity for skin colonization.
This 5-year project aims to provide crucial insights that could inform new strategies for controlling C. auris transmission and infectious disease progression.
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