Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Invasive fungal infections are a growing problem for people with weakened immune systems, and current treatments are often limited or toxic. One particularly dangerous fungus, Cryptococcus neoformans, can move from the lungs into the bloodstream and then to the brain, where it causes life-threatening meningitis. Unfortunately, today's animal models do not fully reflect how this disease unfolds in the human body, which slows the discovery of better, safer antifungal drugs. In this proposed project, I will build "mini-organ" models of human lung, bone marrow, and brain in the lab using stem cells that can turn into many different tissues. These 3D organoids will be connected to tiny blood vessel networks and fluid channels to mimic how the fungus enters through the lungs, travels in the blood, and invades the brain. This will allow us to watch the infection process in real time and measure how well different treatments stop the fungus from spreading and damaging human tissues. I will use this platform to test a new class of engineered antibody-like molecules, called lectibodies, that are designed to recognize sugar structures on the fungal surface. By screening a library of lectibodies, we aim to find the most promising candidates that recognize the fungus, block its spread, and protect human cells. Ultimately, this work will create a human-relevant toolkit to better understand fungal infections and speed up the development of next-generation antifungal therapies for patients.