Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

In the past 25 years the incidence of fatality associated with fungal infections has increased steadily, largely as a consequence of an increase in the number of immunocompromised individuals. For immunocompetent individuals infections caused by the many fungal species which are part of the flora normally inhabiting the human body or which are encountered in the environment are very seldom life-threatening. For immunocompromised patients, however, invasive fungal infections have become important causes of morbidity and mortality. Millions of people worldwide are threatened by such dangerous infections. AIDS patients, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, cystic fibrosis patients, stem cell transplant patients, organ transplan recipients are all at high risk of acquiring life-threatening fungal infections.The present research project seeks to discover new antimycotics which will help to combat this serious health problem. An enzyme specific to fungal metabolism has been identified and specific inhibitors of it have already been designed by the researchers involved and have been shown to possess antifungal activity.   This project involves a close collaboration with the scientists of the Infectious Diseases unit of a Canadian pharmaceutical company and their involvement strongly enhances the prospects that a practical novel antimycotic pharmaceutical will eventually emerge from this work and ensures that the young scientists to be involved in this project will receive training in a highly interdisciplinary environment.This project has potential for improving the health of immunocompromised individuals, which could lead to decreased health care costs, and could create a unique niche in the large anti-infective pharmaceutical market for the participating Canadian company.