The Baltimore Fungal Biology Center (BFBC) was established in January 2015 to bring together diverse investigators in the Baltimore area with interests in fungal biology and clinical mycology. Laboratories encompass three divisions at Johns Hopkins University: School of Medicine, School of Public Health, and School of Arts and Sciences and two schools at University of Maryland, Baltimore: School of Medicine and School of Dentistry.
The diverse research of faculty covers a wide range of topics, including basic Saccharomyces cerevisiae biology, the molecular pathogenesis of Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida spp. and Asperguillus, and clinical cases of human fungal infections.
The mission of BFBC is to promote excellence in mycology research by fostering collaborations, the sharing of ideas and reagents and by endorsing the next generation of fungal biology researchers. The majority of current BFBC members are students and post docs, and BFBC strives to enhance their educational experiences through monthly BFBC research presentations, interactions with invited speakers and classroom education.
Welcome to BFBC!
Our lab uses O’mics to understand the host-pathogen interactions between human/mouse cells with:
Our Lab uses a multidisciplinary approach to explore two key topics within microbiology and immunology: how microbes cause disease and how hosts can protect themselves against those microbes. Much of our research focuses on the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, which frequently causes lung infections in people with impaired immunity.
Research in the Culotta lab focuses on metals at the host-pathogen interface. Metal ions such as Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn are essential nutrients for all living organisms and during infection, the host attempts to starve invading pathogens of these micronutrients through a process known as nutritional immunity. Our major emphasis is on metals and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans.
The Green Lab investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular adaptation and survival in the presence of stress primarily using the model system Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our research is focused on understanding the role of protein post-translational modification in stress response pathways that direct gene expression programs and dynamically regulate the proteome.
Our lab studies mammalian programmed cell death, and in recent years began studying the molecular dying processes in yeast cells, for example in response to yeast viruses and environmental stresses. We study yeast genes that promote or suppress self-induced cell death following stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Cryptococcus neoformans including clinical isolates.
Or lab investigates virulence factors in the opportunistic fungal pathogens Candida albicans and the newly emerged multi-drug resistant Candida auris, as well as the host and pathogen factors that play a role in the transition between colonization and infection. Using murine models of infection, we focus on development of biofilm-associated infections, fungal-bacterial interactions, development of drug resistance and exploring novel therapeutic strategies.
Our lab uses protein engineering to study how proteins and peptides interact with fungal cells. We are particularly interested in proteins and peptides that interact with or cross cell membranes, including cell-penetrating peptides, antimicrobial peptides, and lipid transport proteins.
We're interested in understanding how fungi regulate morphogenesis and cell-wall development. We are specifically focused on signal transduction, and use phosphoproteomic analysis to better understand kinase mediated signaling. We are applying our understanding by working to develop novel "mycelial materials" made of fungi.
We are cell biologists using “humanized yeast” to study the role of the human zinc metalloprotease ZMPSTE24 in the post-translational processing of the nuclear scaffold protein lamin A. We are also examining ZMPSTE24’s role in defense against enveloped viruses, through studies of yeast STE24 and its impact on protein trafficking.
Mycologics is an early-stage startup focused on developing biological-based solutions to safeguard food, feed, and health from harmful fungal pathogens and their toxins. Our research aims to understand the mechanisms that help the fungal pathogens invade their hosts, based on which we identify and develop natural product-based formulations that inhibit those processes. The company recently received an SBIR Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a biocontrol agent against Aspergillus pathogens.
Dr. Shoham has over 20 years of experience in management of patients with invasive infections, and is the author or co-author of over 100 original articles, book chapters and topic reviews. He is a nationally recognized expert in infectious diseases of immunocompromised patients and his research explores diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infections in such patients. Dr. Shoham serves as a reviewer and expert consultant to multiple journals, professional societies, hospitals, and government agencies in the US and numerous countries abroad.
Our group’s research focuses on developing rapid and nonculture-based tools for fungal diagnostics. These include identifying fungal pathogens from FFPE tissue blocks, fungal antigen assays, host-driven response assays, multiplex PCR and next-generation sequencing to rapidly identify fungal pathogens directly from clinical samples. We also interested in studying identification and characterization of new emerging fungal pathogens, the role of fungal pathogens in cystic fibrosis patients, and antifungal drug resistance.
Quigly Dragotakes, Ph.D.
Post-Doc
Casadevall Laboratory
Daniel Smith, Ph.D.
Post-Doc
Casadevall Laboratory
Gracen Gerbig
Ph.D. Candidate
Casadevall Laboratory