Overview

I have been studying various aspects of fungal biology since my PhD. I started my career investigating gene regulation, epigenetics and specific transcription factors in the biotechnological-relevant fungi Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus nidulans in order to optimise enzyme secretion for biofuel production. During my post-doctoral career I then gradually moved to the biomedical side of fungal biology and characterised virulence determinants (anti-fungal drug resistance, transcription factors, nutrient utilisation, cell signaling pathways) in the opportunistic fungal pathogen A. fumigatus; as well as in clinical isolates of A. nidulans and in clinical isolates of Aspergillus cryptic species (e.g. hybrids). My research has mainly focused on how the utilisation (signaling and metabolism) of different carbon sources affects fungal traits such as gene expression, enzyme secretion, central metabolism, secondary metabolite production and cell wall structure/composition that are important for virulence. I am currently investigating how the interaction between pathogenic gram-negative bacteria and the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans affects C. albicans cell wall structure and pathogenicity

Qualifications

B.Sc. in Biological Sciences (University of East Anglia)

PhD in Molecular Microbiology and Genetics (University of Nottingham)

Career

01/11/2017 - 30/06/2020 Young Researcher at the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

01/11/2016 - 30/10/2017 Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirao Preto of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

 01/10/2013 - 30/09/2016 Postdoctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirao Preto of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

11/2012 - 08/2013 Freelance tutor for the company cours@home, Luxembourg

09/2008 - 09/2012 PhD University of Nottingham, UK

Research group links

• Centre for Medical Mycology