How Mucor fungi use calcineurin and related proteins to cause infection
Official title: A novel link between calcineurin, amino acid permease, and protein kinase A in virulence in Mucor
Funded at Texas Tech University Health Scis Center · NIH-11267982 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looking for fungal-only weak spots in Mucor infections that could lead to safer antifungal drugs for people with weakened immune systems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas Tech University Health Scis Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lubbock, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2025 |
| Project end | January 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $576,767 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI182221-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11267982 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who have had mucormycosis or are at high risk (for example, those with weakened immune systems) could be relevant for future sample donation or as eventual candidates for therapies stemming from this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without fungal infections or unrelated medical conditions are unlikely to see direct benefit from this basic laboratory research in the near term.
What this research studies
This lab project studies the Mucor fungus, a cause of life‑threatening mucormycosis, to understand how the enzyme calcineurin and related proteins help the fungus grow and cause disease. Scientists will change fungal genes (including an amino acid permease) and measure how those changes affect growth, drug resistance, and signaling through protein kinase A in laboratory experiments. They will combine genetic, biochemical, and infection-model tests to find fungal-specific components downstream of calcineurin that do not exist in human cells. The goal is to identify targets that could be used to develop new antifungal medicines that avoid harming human cells.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new antifungal targets that lead to drugs which reduce death and disability from mucormycosis with fewer human side effects.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show calcineurin controls fungal virulence but direct calcineurin blockers harm humans, so pursuing fungal-specific downstream targets is promising but still exploratory.
Where this research is happening
-
Texas Tech University Health Scis Center
Lubbock, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lee, Soo Chan — Texas Tech University Health Scis Center
- Study coordinator: Lee, Soo Chan
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.