Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded $441,204 to the University of California, Davis under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for a project grant effective February 13, 2026, through January 31, 2028. The award funds research focused on restoring gastrointestinal microbiota-host interactions to prevent invasive candidiasis, a critical infection caused by Candida albicans that carries approximately 50% mortality when disseminated throughout the body via the bloodstream. The research addresses a significant clinical gap: while antifungal prophylaxis has been employed to prevent invasive candidiasis in high-risk populations such as hematologic malignancy patients, increasing rates of antifungal resistance and breakthrough infections demonstrate the need for alternative prevention approaches.

The project will deliver mechanistic research and experimental validation on how oxygen availability enables Candida albicans colonization of the gastrointestinal tract and the efficacy of 5-aminosalicyclic acid (5-ASA)—an established inflammatory bowel disease therapeutic—in restoring colonization resistance. Specifically, the funded research aims to determine whether 5-ASA prevents invasive candidiasis development using a Candida albicans dissemination model with cyclophosphamide administration in mice, while simultaneously investigating the mechanistic pathways through which 5-ASA reduces gastrointestinal Candida albicans colonization. These research deliverables will advance scientific understanding of candidiasis pathogenesis and identify a repurposed therapeutic candidate to mitigate breakthrough infections in immunocompromised populations.