Dr. José Vargas-Muñiz.
Dr. José Vargas-Muñiz, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Southern Illinois University
Fungi are essential for a healthy ecosystem. They play vital roles in the nutrient cycle due to their ability to decompose plant matter. However, a few of these environmental fungi are capable of infecting people. Treating these infections is challenging due to the fungi being more closely related to humans than you think, as well as the emergence of antifungal drug resistance. Dr. Vargas-Muñiz is interested in understanding how the fungal cell works and aims to use that knowledge to develop a novel treatment for existing fungal infections. His lab also seeks to understand how the ability to infect humans evolves from environmental fungi, particularly fungi from the ocean.
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