Molecular Mycology: Current Approaches to Fungal Pathogenesis

描述(由申请者提供)：马萨诸塞州伍兹霍尔海洋生物实验室(MBL)的分子真菌学课程是一门研究人类真菌病原体的强化培训课程。本课程是为高级研究生、博士后研究员和教职员工设计的。在过去的14年里，这门课程成功地推动了基因技术在致病真菌研究中的使用，以及人类真菌感染及其治疗的体外、细胞培养和动物模型的使用。该课程还负责为医学真菌学领域招募优秀的新研究人员。这门课程的一个主要部分是来自真菌发病机制社区的大量教员的参与。在MBL的亲密环境中，学生和教职员工之间的互动为学生开始独立的职业生涯提供了联系。此外，该课程有促进真菌学研究团队之间高效合作的历史。因此，这门课程在提高真菌发病机制研究的水平，促进社区内的互动和思想交流，以及促进现在成为该领域领导者的个人的职业生涯方面发挥了重要作用。分子真菌学课程正在不断发展，以满足当前学生的需求。这门课程已经开始了轮流领导的过程，以确保真菌社区内的广泛代表性和所有权，并在课程中不断增加该领域最前沿的新实验和主题。虽然分子真菌课程过去得到了几个资金来源的支持，包括学生学费、Burroughs Wellcome基金、Howard Hughes医学研究所、MBL教育办公室和各种制药公司，但这些资金来源可能不足以维持和发展科学卓越，并将学生成本保持在足够低的水平，以便在我们前进的过程中尽可能地招收最有前途和最多样化的班级。因此，该课程寻求与NIAID合作，开发持续和充足的资金。在这样的支持下，MBL分子真菌学课程的主任和教员将能够继续培训下一代医学真菌学研究的领导者，他们将有助于揭示真菌疾病的关键因素，并开发用于管理人类真菌感染的新的治疗和诊断工具。 公共卫生相关性：海洋生物实验室的分子真菌学课程自14年前开设以来一直是医学真菌学研究社区的重要资源。本课程的目标是培养下一代医学真菌学研究的领导者。这些科学家将领导该领域为人类威胁生命的真菌感染开发新的治疗和诊断策略。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Molecular Mycology Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts is an intensive training course for research on human fungal pathogens. This course is designed for advanced graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty. Over the past fourteen years, this course has successfully advanced both the use of genetic techniques in the study of pathogenic fungi and the use of in vitro, cell culture and animal models of human fungal infections and their treatment. The course has also been responsible for recruiting outstanding new investigators to the field of medical mycology. A major part of the course is the participation of a large number of faculty from within the fungal pathogenesis community. Interaction between students and faculty in the intimate setting of the MBL provides connections for the students as they launch independent careers. Furthermore, the course has a history of fostering highly productive collaborations between mycology research teams. Thus, the course has played a major role in elevating the level at which fungal pathogenesis research is performed, fostering interactions and the exchange of ideas within the community, and advancing the careers of individuals who are now becoming leaders in the field. The Molecular Mycology course is evolving to meet the needs of the current students. The course has begun a process of rotating leadership to ensure broad representation and ownership within the fungal community, and new experiments and topics at the cutting edge of the field are continually added to the curriculum. While the Molecular Mycology course has been largely supported by several funding sources in the past, including student tuition, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the MBL Educational office, and various pharmaceutical companies, these funding sources may not be sufficient to both maintain and develop scientific excellence and to keep student costs low enough that we can recruit the most promising and diverse class possible as we move forward. Thus, the course seeks to partner with NIAID to develop sustained and adequate funding. With such support, the MBL Molecular Mycology course directors and faculty will be able to continue to train the next generation of leaders in medical mycology research who will be instrumental in revealing the key elements of fungal diseases, and developing new therapeutic and diagnostic tools for the management of human fungal infections. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Molecular Mycology Course at the Marine Biological Laboratories has been an important resource of the medical mycology research community since its inception fourteen years ago. The goal of this course is to train the next generation of leaders in medical mycology research. These scientists will lead the field in developing new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies for life-threatening fungal infections in humans.