A force against fungi

Fungal infections account for more than 1.5 million deaths globally each year; more than malaria and breast cancer. However, therapeutic options are limited and resistance to the small number of antifungals available is growing. Despite this, fungal infections remain in the shadow of bacterial infections as a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and progress to develop new therapeutics has been slow, in large part due to the limited funding available.

One lab that has placed fungal pathogens front and centre of its research is the Cowen Lab in Toronto, Canada. Set up by Leah Cowen – a mycologist – in 2007, the lab is driven by a desire to answer the big questions surrounding fungal drug resistance, development and disease, namely, how do these microbes cause disease and how do they evolve resistance? ‘We have very collaboratively built out a strategy to leverage genomics to understand vulnerabilities in fungal pathogens, and also chemical biology to identify molecules that we might be able to harness to thwart them,’ explains Cowen.