Experimental Mycology and Microbiome Research

Research Description

Human fungal infections are a growing, but understudied problem that kill an estimated 2.1 million people worldwide each year. The primary site of many of these life-threatening infections is the lung, as fungi are exceptional spore producers and human exposure by inhalation is unavoidable. The burden of these infections is predicted to increase considerably due to an increased number of susceptible patients and the emergence of new fungal diseases due to climate change. Despite this, we still have a limited understanding of how these pathogens cause disease, adapt to the host, and evade antifungal treatment. 

Research in my group uses genomics, microbiome science, and laboratory experiments and is concentrated on (i) creating cutting-edge bioinformatic tools that capture the pangenomic diversity of eukaryotic pathogens (ii) investigating how fungal pathogens interact with the respiratory microbiome and adapt during chronic infection of the lung and (iii) using metagenomics and high throughput genetic screening to understand how environmental interactions shape human virulence in fungi. 

For additional information about the group’s activities, please visit their external site at https://barber-lab.com.

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