Broad-spectrum mold-fighting medicines discovered by high-throughput screening
Official title: A high throughput screen to identify broad-spectrum, mold-active antifungals
Funded at University of Iowa · NIH-11431857 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant aims to find new antifungal compounds that work against hard-to-treat molds like Aspergillus and Mucor, using a fast screening method to identify promising candidates.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Iowa NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Iowa City, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $582,699 |
| NIH project number | 1R01AI201844-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11431857 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with invasive mold infections or those at high risk due to immunosuppression may benefit from future antifungal therapies arising from this work.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without mold infections or those not considered at high risk may not directly benefit from this research.
What this research studies
Researchers will screen up to 150,000 drug-like molecules using a rapid, non-human cell-based assay against molds such as Aspergillus fumigatus and Mucor circinelloides. The plan is to pick primary hits that show broad activity and acceptable safety in lab tests, then study how the compounds behave in animals to gauge how well they could work in people. The project will focus on narrowing down to one promising chemical scaffold for further development toward potential clinical use. This work could lead to new treatments for invasive mold infections that currently have high mortality.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with invasive mold infections could have access to new, more effective antifungal options.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary screening approaches for antifungals have yielded active candidates in other studies, though this project directly targets non-Aspergillus molds and validates a novel assay.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Iowa
Iowa City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Beattie, Sarah R. — University of Iowa
- Study coordinator: Beattie, Sarah R.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.