# Mechanism(s) of pathogenicity for Candida auris

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2022 · $534,014

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris has produced numerous outbreaks of invasive disease in
hospitals worldwide. With mortality rates as high as 60%, the continued rise of this drug-resistant pathogen
is alarming. Further understanding of the unexpected virulence of C. auris is desperately needed for the
design of innovative therapeutic approaches. My laboratory’s long-term goal is to find new approaches to
understand, detect, and treat invasive fungal infections. The objective of this application is to delineate how
C. auris evades innate immunity and to develop a novel therapeutic strategy to circumvent this mechanism.
We have found that neutrophils, leukocytes critical for control of many invasive fungal infections, fail to kill
C. auris. We propose that uncovering the molecular mechanism of this immune evasion will identify new
drug targets. Our preliminary data provide compelling evidence for the involvement of a C. auris cell wall
component. Furthermore, we have identified a subset of neutrophils with enhanced antifungal activity. We
plan to capitalize on this finding to delineate the molecular aspects of a successful neutrophil response
against C. auris. This will not only shed light on the virulence of C. auris, but will also establish a platform for
future neutrophil-based immunotherapies. We anticipate this approach will have broad implications for the
treatment of a variety of drug-resistant or treatment-refractory invasive fungal infections.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10328232
- **Project number:** 5R01AI145939-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeniel E Nett
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $534,014
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10328232

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10328232, Mechanism(s) of pathogenicity for Candida auris (5R01AI145939-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10328232. Licensed CC0.

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