Breaking the cell wall barrier to find new drugs for antimicrobial resistant fungi

Antimicrobials commonly target the cell wall of bacteria. In contrast, echinocandins are the only antimicrobials that target fungal cell walls. However, as with bacteria, antimicrobial resistance is a major and increasing problem for fungi. Cryptococcus neoformans is a human fungal pathogen, with >100,000 estimated annual deaths. Individuals with late-stage HIV infection are the largest at-risk group and Cryptococcus is responsible for 20% of AIDS-related deaths. Cryptococcus is inherently resistant to echinocandins (unknown mechanism) and exhibits inducible resistance to two further classes of antifungal, azoles and 5-flucytosine. The remaining single agent, amphotericin, is highly toxic and has limited availability.

New antifungal agents are desperately needed due antimicrobial resistance and the toxicity of current drugs. The threat of human fungal infections will only increase due to an ageing population, treatments for cancer and autoimmune disease, changes in climate driving emergence of new fungal pathogens and expansion of endemic fungal infections. The biology of the cryptococcal cell wall is very poorly understood but has great potential as a target for antimicrobial therapy.

Entry Requirements:

Candidates must have a first or upper second-class honours degree or significant research experience.

How to apply:

Please complete a University Postgraduate Research Application form available here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying. Please clearly state the prospective main supervisor in the respective box and select ‘School of Medicine and Population Health: Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease’ as the department.

Candidates will be required to complete a declaration form and upload it to their application. Applicants with overseas fee status are NOT eligible for these awards.

The scholarships cover tuition fees and a tax-free stipend at the UKRI rate (£19,237 for students starting in October 2024), as well as a training and development allowance.