Infection
Aspergillus
Current research includes:
- Basic mechanisms of disease and antifungal resistance
- Molecular epidemiology and taxonomy
- Provision of tools and access for Aspergillus genome analysis
- Improving the diagnosis of both invasive fungal infection and fungal allergy
- Optimizing methods for detection of resistance in fungi
- Understanding the genetic basis of aspergillosis and fungal allergy in humans
- Optimizing antifungal drug dosing and usage, based on pharmacodynamics and clinical trials
- Epidemiology of fungal infection in the UK
The group manages the Aspergillus website which is the world’s premier resource, attracting over 17,000 page requests daily. The Regional Mycology Laboratory, Manchester (RMLM) processes clinical specimens for antifungal therapeutic drug monitoring and susceptibility testing.
The group also manages the Aspergillus genomes online resource, which is a user-friendly portal for interrogating the 11 sequenced aspergillus genomes.
Two spinout companies are developing novel anti-fungals (F2G) and diagnostics (Myconostica) UHSM has been successful in its application to the Department of Health National Commissioning Group funding for the National Aspergillosis Centre (£5million+ annually), which will coordinate the management of patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis with substantial clinical and laboratory support.
Image: (A) A GFP modified Aspergillus fumigatus invading through a human endothelial cell layer
Image: (B) The application of neuronal tracing software to measure hyphal length and branch number as a novel means of quantifying drug effect.
Cystic Fibrosis
The Adult Cystic Fibrosis (CF) group have identified and developed isolation strategies for patients with an epidemic strain of Pseudomonas aeruginos. They are also studying novel diagnostics, and the management of CF associated bone disease and diabetes.
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