Professor Edward Feil from the Milner Centre for Evolution and the Department of Life Sciences is leading a research team from across Europe and Australia to be awarded a €2.3 million (£1.9 million) to understand and manage the spread of pathogenic Candida fungi in hospitals and the environment.

Pathogenic fungi cause 13 million infections and around 1 million deaths around the world every year. The genus Candida contains numerous pathogenic species, including C. albicans, C. auris and C. parapsilosis, which can cause hospital outbreaks.

In much the same way that bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, these fungi are commonly resistant to antifungal drugs. This makes infections difficult to treat and control and represents a growing global public health concern.

Currently, little is known about the use of genomics in Candida epidemiology or the spread of these fungi in clinical and non-clinical environments.

During this project, the team will use genome sequencing to identify fungal strains that have become adapted to the hospital environment, in a way that is similar to the familiar bacterial ‘superbugs’ like MRSA.

They will also work with the new Centre of Excellence in Water-Based Early Warning Systems for Health Protection to analyse wastewater samples. This will allow them to understand how frequently these strains might be carried by healthy individuals in the community.

Finally, the team will identify bacteria that can grow alongside Candida species in the human gut, but that inhibit the growth of the fungi. Using state-of-the-art bioinformatics analyses, the team will characterise these bacteria and assess their potential as future therapies for infection.

Professor Edward Feil said of the grant: “This award represents an outstanding opportunity to work with some of the best genomics experts across Europe, and to generate data that will further our understanding of how these dangerous pathogenic fungi are spreading through hospitals, so informing more effective disease management strategies."