The Carter lab aims to take a holistic view of eukaryotic microorganisms, in particular disease-causing pathogens, with the aim of finding new ways to inhibit them and treat infections. These organims are much more closely related to humans than bacteria or viruses, making it difficult to devise treatments that don't also damage the host. Our work centres on understanding pathogen diversity using population and evolutionary genetic analysis, and on understanding cellular responses to toxins and stresses using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. The organisms of choice are the yeast pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus gattii, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. These organisms are commonly encountered in the environment or living on our bodies, but cause devastating illnesses, particularly in immunocompromised hosts, that are notoriously difficult to treat.
