Searching for new medicines for Valley fever (Coccidioides) using a high‑security screening lab
Official title: BSL3 Drug Screening Core
Funded at University of Texas San Antonio · NIH-11251791 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project builds a high‑security lab to screen thousands of compounds to find new treatments for people with Valley fever caused by Coccidioides fungi.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas San Antonio NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Antonio, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $114,195 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AI166761-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251791 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People diagnosed with Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis), especially those with persistent, severe, or disseminated infections, stand to benefit from the therapies this work might produce.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without Coccidioides infection or with unrelated conditions are unlikely to directly benefit from this laboratory screening effort.
What this research studies
Researchers are creating a Biosafety Level‑3 drug‑screening core to allow large‑scale testing of chemical libraries directly against Coccidioides fungi. They will set up low‑ and high‑density microtiter plate assays that work inside the BSL‑3 space and adapt imaging flow cytometry for fungal cytological profiling. The team will use these tools to spot compounds that kill or disable the fungus and to learn how promising compounds act. The core will also support other center projects and provide screening services to accelerate new antifungal development.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could speed discovery of new antifungal drugs for people with coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever).
How similar studies have gone: High‑throughput screening has previously produced antifungal leads, but running HTS and imaging‑based profiling inside a BSL‑3 facility specifically for Coccidioides is a newer and less tested approach.
Where this research is happening
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University of Texas San Antonio
San Antonio, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lopez-Ribot, Jose L. — University of Texas San Antonio
- Study coordinator: Lopez-Ribot, Jose L.
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.