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Brendan Cormack is a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics at Johns Hopkins University. His research is focused on the molecular understanding of Candida pathogenesis and virulence. The Cormack lab investigates new pathways involved in the relationship between Candida glabrata and its host, aiming to define the evolutionary adaptations that allow Candida to successfully colonize humans and cause disease in susceptible patients. The lab has made exciting discoveries related to the unusual transcriptional regulation of the EPA loci, which are located adjacent to telomeres and are subject to epigenetic silencing mediated by the Sir2 family of histone deacetylases. Cormack's team has shown that the regulation of important virulence mutants disrupt sub-telomeric silencing, thereby affecting virulence. Their research includes characterizing the regulation of EPA genes and analyzing their expression during infection, revealing that transcriptionally silent EPA genes can be induced by host infection, primarily due to limited availability of vitamin niacin, which is a precursor to NAD+. This knowledge links vitamin availability with virulence gene expression, presenting a potential mechanism to block Candida virulence that the lab is currently pursuing.
Department of Pathology - PhD in Pathobiology. GRE is not required.