Regulation of Capsule

The cryptococcal capsule is extremely sensitive to environmental conditions, becoming particularly large during infection. With local collaborators, we are combining new technologies and approaches in computational biology with molecular experimentation to examine capsule regulation. Our initial studies have focused on the transcriptional regulatory network of capsule, defining how Cryptococcus coordinates gene expression to modulate this key structure in response to the environment. We are interested in defining how this pathogen senses it is in a host, how regulatory activities unfold over time, and which gene targets are critical for capsule growth. Another computational project focuses on genome analysis of clinical isolates.