Research Projects

Metabolism is crucial for regulating essential cell processes, including energy and biosynthetic precursors. Mitochondria play a role in triggering signaling processes involved in aging, apoptosis, immunomodulation, and overall organism fitness and health. Recent discoveries reveal the importance of studying the molecular intricacies involved in classical and novel metabolic pathways. Candida albicans, a pathogenic yeast, provides an ideal platform to study these processes. Recent studies have revealed that amino sugar N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) triggers dynamic cellular processes, including morphogenetic transition, GlcNAc utilization, and GlcNAc Induced Cell Death (GICD), survival, and virulence. The proposed research aims to establish the metabolic basis of cellular processes leading to cell fate using a multiomics systems biology approach that integrates high-throughput data from cutting-edge technologies. The study will also dissect the temporal and spatial cellular events in the pathogen during the infection process using single cell RNA seq analysis, the first study in Candida species to analyze single-cell transcriptome during infection. This research will provide new insights into the molecular basis of candida development at specific infection sites on the host and unravel novel pathways mediating dynamic cellular processes induced by GlcNAc. The results of this study could help develop knowledge in developmental biology and infection diseases, as well as design yeast reference model systems and develop therapeutic strategies for candidiasis and other fungal diseases.