The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded a $300,000 Project Grant under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to Microrid Technologies Inc. The goal of this 1-year project is to discover and develop a new therapeutic more potent than current antifungals for the treatment of invasive fungal infections like cryptococcosis, candidiasis, and aspergillosis. The project aims to target a fungal enzyme, ceramide synthase 1 (CER1), which is essential for fungal growth in various environmental conditions. The funding will allow the recipient to continue screening chemical libraries to identify potent inhibitors of fungal CER1 that do not impact mammalian ceramide synthases, with the intent of advancing any promising hit compounds through medicinal chemistry and preclinical studies.
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