How does the pathogen Candida albicans sense heat and activate the thermal adaptation mechanisms that promote infection?

Michelle will begin her Fellowship in the laboratory of Professor Leah Cowen at the University of Toronto, investigating how the major fungal pathogen of humans, Candida albicans, senses thermal fluctuations, and the mechanisms by which thermal adaptation contributes to virulence. During the course of the Fellowship she will collaborate with Professor Joe Heitman at Duke University, seeking to determine whether another major fungal pathogen of humans, Cryptococcus neoformans, maintains conservation of these responses. Michelle will also continue her collaborations with Professor Alistair Brown in the Aberdeen Fungal Group at the University of Aberdeen.