Carol Munro – University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Dr Soumya Palliyil – University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Dr. Radha Krishan Shandil – Foundation for Neglected Disease Research , India
Dr Afreenish Amir – National Institutes of Health, Pakistan
Pakistan, India and UK
Microbial Pathogenesis
Candidozyma auris, Nakaseomyces glabratus, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans
There is an urgent clinical need for more effective antifungal therapies that can be accessed at low costs by all. This project will test the efficacy of a new class of antifungal therapy based on monoclonal antibodies that target the surface of fungal pathogens. The project will build a new partnership between the University of Aberdeen and the Foundation for Neglected Disease Research (FNDR) in Bangalore, India and the National Institute of Health in Pakistan based in Islamabad. There is a relative neglect towards emerging challenge of antifungal resistance in resource limited countries and together we will build a new solution to tackle this problem. Antibodies form part of the body’s naturally defenses against infection and are safer drugs with no/low toxicity and avoid deleteruius drug/drug interactions. The antibodies have proven efficacy against invasive infections caused by Candida albicans. In Pakistan and India there is a high burden of disease caused by a recently emerged species Candida auris that can be resistant to multiple drug classes. In this project we will assess the ability of the antibodies to bind to the fungi that are circulating in local hospitals in India and Pakistan. FNDR will utilise a mouse model of C. auris infection to test antifungal activity of the antibodies. In Aberdeen we will study how the antibodies recruite immune cells to kill C. auris to gain understanding of the mechanism of protection.
