Fungal diseases are serious threats to human health with very limited treatment options. The Xue lab studies the human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, the leading cause of life-threatening fungal meningitis. We apply multidiscipline approaches to investigate the Cryptococcus-host interactions with the long-term goal to identify new targets and develop novel therapeutic interventions to prevent and treat fungal infections. Our current research is centered on nutrient sensing in Cryptococcus brain infection, regulation of ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis in fungal immunopathogenesis, and lipid metabolism in fungal virulence and antifungal drug resistance. The lab has made efforts to characterize the functional properties of several fungal cell surface proteins, including G-protein coupled receptors, sugar sensors, and phospholipid translocases (flippases). We are also interested in fungal vaccine research and developing peptide-based antifungal inhibitors.
- Title
- Associate Professor
- Area of Study/Expertise
- Cryptococcus neoformans; Virulence; Antifungal drug; Host signal sensing; Receptor
- xuech@njms.rutgers.edu