Department / Division:
Medicine
/
Infectious Diseases and International Health
Address:
DUMC 3281
Durham, NC 27710
Appointment Telephone:
919-668-7630
Fax Telephone:
919-479-2948
Clinical Interests:
Fungal infections, HIV
Research Interests:
My research interests are concerned with fungal infections in humans.
I am especially interested in the human pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus
neoformans, and I am using this organism as a model fungal pathogen in
molecular pathogenesis studies.
My lab is using a variety of techniques to identify genes that are
important to the composite virulence phenotype of C. neoformans. We
have used insertional mutagenesis to find mutants of interest and we
have also used targeted gene disruption to study specific genes that
are thought to have a role in pathogenesis. The emphasis is to find
genes referable to all fungi pathogenic to humans since these may be
candidates for antifungal development.
I am also involved in a variety of clinical trials. Some of these are
through the AIDS Clinical Trials Group and the Mycoses Study Group,
while others are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies to test novel
antifungal agents.
Key words: fungi, pathogenesis, mycology, AIDS, cryptococcus
Representative Publications:
Cox GM, Schell WA, and Perfect JR. Unusual mycoses in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Cliniguide to Fungal Infections, 1995, Vol. 5, Issue 4.
(1995)