Jeniel Nett, MD, PhD

Fungal Pathogenesis, Immunology

Our laboratory focuses on the host response to biofilm infections, with the goal of devising new approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of these common infections. Patients with indwelling medical devices, such as venous catheters, are at risk for invasive disease caused by various fungal and bacterial pathogens. In these patients, organisms adhere to the device surface and proliferate as a biofilm of resilient cells encased in an extracellular matrix. As the host immune system and conventional anti-infectives are often not capable of eradicating biofilms, these infections can have devastating consequences. As a model organism, we study Candida, the most common hospital-acquried fungal pathogen, and how the transition to the biofilm lifestyle protects Candida from immune clearance.