Paul Rowley Interviews with IDH About Novel Antifungal Proteins
September 20, 2019
Dr. Paul Rowley of the Biological Sciences department was recently interviewed by the Infectious Diseases Hub about his work exploring novel antifungal proteins. With rising resistance to antifungals, there is a need for new approaches and new drugs to treat fungal infections. In his interview, Rowley speaks about his research identifying novel antifungal proteins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts and whether these could be translated into the medications of the future. He discusses in detail 'killer yeasts' and the toxins they produce, as well as reason behind the the growing need for antifungals. He also references his previously published paper about a sequencing technique they developed. Moving forward, Rowley wants to focus his research next on the different strains of proteins, and variability in their ability to inhibit the growth of pathogenic yeasts.
Rowley's research was supported by NIH, INBRE, and NSF grants, as well as the Office of Undergraduate Research here at the University of Idaho, which allowed him to work with a team of undergraduate student researchers that helped make these discoveries possible.