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A Platform for Antifungal Discovery

Award Number: R01AI201156
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/10/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2031

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A Platform for Antifungal Discovery - Summary Invasive fungal infections have a staggering impact on human health, killing 2.5 million people a year. The arsenal of antifungals is modest, reflecting the challenge of finding compounds that are non-toxic to human cells with which fungi share most targets. The rise of fungal drug resistance and limited therapeutic options leads to high rates of mortality. Four fungal pathogens, Candida albicans, Candida auris, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus are of critical priority according to the WHO and CDC. The mortality is 75% for Cryptococcal meningitis, 85% for invasive aspergillosis, and 66% for invasive candidiasis. These critical pathogens will be the focus of the discovery platform we develop. In this project, we will develop an efficient platform for antifungal discovery, based on selection of attractive producers; and a rapid differential single-cell-based screen of soil bacteria in microdroplets. In this proposed project, we will develop an advanced antifungal discovery platform consisting of two arms – selection of attractive producers, and ultra-high- throughput screening of soil bacteria in microdroplets. Selecting producers such as animal symbionts that are likely to make non-toxic compounds has led to the discovery of 4 new antifungal we report in Preliminary studies. The other arm of the platform is a selective single-cell based ultra-high-throughput screen of soil bacteria in microdroplets. Droplets contain a potential producer and two differently labeled reporter cells, such as green C. albicans and red S. aureus. A microfluidics sorter operating at a rate of 106 droplets/hour will capture droplets with low C. albicans (green)/high HeLa (red), the producer bacteria will be isolated, and the compounds isolated and characterized in vitro with a focus on mechanism of action, and in murine models of fungal infection. Properly characterized leads will serve as validation for the discovery platform, and as starting material for antifungal drug development. This multi-PI project is a collaboration between Kim Lewis, Northeastern University, an expert in antimicrobial discovery, and Teresa O’Meara, University of Michigan, an expert on fungi, with a focus on mechanisms of antifungal action. The two teams collaborated on the preliminary data for this proposal.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $738,722 )
2026	2026	NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY	360 HUNTINGTON AVE	BOSTON	MA	02115	SUFFOLK	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	1	9/10/2026	NEW	$738,722
														Subtotal = $738,722

Grand Total All Awards = $738,722

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A Platform for Antifungal Discovery

Award Number: R01AI201156

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/10/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2031

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