Dr Liliane Mukaremera

About me:

I am a lecturer in Biosciences at the University of Exeter and a member of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at Exeter. I obtained a BSc in biotechnology from the National University of Rwanda (East Africa) before completing a MSc and PhD in medical sciences at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. I then moved to the University of Minnesota for my postdoctoral research studying the role of titan cells in the pathogenesis of the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus. My current research focuses on understanding morphological factors, specifically cell wall modifications, which influence Cryptococcus pathogenesis and disease outcome.

Interests:

Fungal pathogens cause a wide range of infection from superficial to systemic infections, and are associated with a high rate of mortality generally exceeding 50% of infected people. Most common human fungal pathogens include Aspergillus, Candida and Cryptococcus species. Despite being one of the top human killers, the study of fungal pathogens has been neglected and these pathogens continue to cause death in humans, especially in immunocompromised people. Research on fungal pathogens is therefore desperately needed to understand fungal pathogenesis and create new therapeutics to address the growing burden of fungal infections.

My work focuses on understanding morphological factors, specifically cell wall modifications, which influence C. neoformans pathogenesis and disease outcome. The cell wall is a unique structure to fungi (absent in mammals), and therefore is a great target choice for the development of new antifungal drugs. At present, there are no drug treatments for cryptococcal infection that target the cell wall. We are currently working on characterising C. neoformans cell wall as a potential antifungal drug target.

Qualifications:

2013 PhD Medical Sciences (Microbiology), University of Aberdeen

2009 MSc Medical Molecular Microbiology, University of Aberdeen

2008 Bachelor in Biology (Biotechnology), National University of Rwanda

Career:

2019-Present Lecturer University of Exeter

2014-2018 Postdoctoral Associate, University of Minnesota, Minnesota- USA

2016-2017 Adjunct Professor, St Catherine University, Minnesota- USA

2015-2016 NIH Global Health Fogarty fellow, Kampala-Uganda

2007-2008 Teaching Assistant, National University of Rwanda, Rwanda