Antifungal Antagonism Screening

National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences

Investigators

Abstract

The NCATS Early Translation Branch (ETB) hosts a broad and comprehensive program for the discovery of drug candidates directed towards rare diseases and pharmacological tools to probe the function of the human genome. ETB conducts research to understand the underlying principles driving the translation of basic research discoveries into tangible improvements in human health. During the reporting period, the collaborative team worked to develop a high-throughput screening assay to identify compounds that reduce the susceptibility of four major human fungal pathogens (C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. neoformans and A. fumigatus) to the most commonly used classes of antifungal drugs (azoles, amphotericin B and echinocandins). This will identify a list of medications that may undermine the clinical efficacy of currently used antifungal drugs.