Training / Research Opportunities
Training Course on Laboratory Identification of Pathogenic Molds
The Mycotic Diseases Branch provides annual training courses on the identification of pathogenic molds. These are organized in conjunction with the National Laboratory Training Network. Lecture sessions are held at Emory University School of Public Health, and practical sessions are held in the adjacent laboratories of the Department of Microbiology, Emory University Dental School. To date, nearly 200 persons have attended these courses.
Our basic course will be offered in the Summer of 2006. This course is designed to enable participants to identify: Coccidioides species; Blastomyces dermatitidis; Histoplasma capsulatum; common dermatophytes; common Aspergillus species; other common molds that form enteroblastic conidia; Sporothrix schenckii, Cladophialophora bantiana, and other molds that form holoblastic conidia; Rhizopus species and other common mucoraceous molds.
In 2005, we offered our advanced course, covering the identification of a wider range of unusual and emerging mold pathogens. In addition to the organisms covered in our previous courses, participants studied a wider range of Aspergillus species; a wide range of less common molds that form enteroblastic conidia, including Acremonium, Exophiala, Fusarium, Phaeoacremonium, Phialophora, and Scedosporium species; a range of less common molds that form holoblastic conidia, including Bipolaris, Exserohilum, Cladophialophora, Curvularia, Ochroconis, and Ramichloridium species; and a wide range of mucoraceous molds, including Absidia, Rhizopus, Rhizomucor, Apophysomyces, Cokeromyces, Saksenaea, and Syncephalastrum species.
In 2003, we offered a new course entitled "Laboratory Mycology: Quality, Cost and Clinical Relevance". This two-day course included sessions on specimen collection, processing and reporting; isolation and identification procedures; the role of serological testing; the role of molecular biology in fungal identification, strain typing, and diagnosis; the role of antifungal drug susceptibility testing; quality control and proficiency testing; and laboratory safety. We also offer a one-day "traveling" version of this course that has been presented in Boston in 2004 and in New York in 2005.
For additional information: contact the National Laboratory Training Network phone: (615) 262-6315, or email: seoffice@nltn.org
Laboratory Training and Research Opportunities
The Mycotic Diseases Branch provides individual training and research opportunities for laboratory scientists at the bachelors and masters level as well as at the postdoctoral level.
In addition to the formal programs listed below, most of which are intended for U.S. citizens, we welcome applications from well-qualified individuals from other countries who have secured, or hope to secure, financial support for their visit. In recent years the Branch has hosted long-term (12-24 months) and short-term (1-6 months) visitors from a number of countries, including Brazil, Belgium, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Russia, Egypt, India, China, Korea, and Japan.
American Society for Microbiology (ASM) - National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) Postdoctoral Research Associates Program
The goal of the ASM/NCID Fellowship is to support the development of new approaches, methodologies and knowledge in infectious disease prevention and control in areas within the public health mission of the CDC. The program is intended for individuals who either earned their doctorate degree or completed a primary residency within three years of their proposed start date.
Identification and molecular analysis of drug resistant fungal pathogens.
B.A. Arthington-Skaggs, D.W. Warnock
Over the past decade, the increasing incidence of serious fungal infections, along with increased antifungal drug use, has led to the emergence of drug-resistant fungal pathogens. The Antifungal Drugs Unit of the Mycotic Diseases Branch is developing novel microbiological, biochemical and flow cytometric approaches to determine the in vitro susceptibility of fungal pathogens to antifungal agents and to evaluate correlations between in vitro test results and outcomes in animal models of mycotic diseases. Our research also includes the elucidation of the genetic basis of drug resistance using state-of-the-art molecular biological tools for gene expression analysis and mutation detection. Fungi of interest include: Candida species, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus species, and dermatophytes.
Molecular identification of pathogenic fungi
M.E. Brandt
The need for rapid patient management decisions and the availability of specific antifungal therapies have necessitated development of rapid and specific identification tools that are not dependent on fungal sporulation or fungal metabolism. Research in the Fungus Reference Unit of the Mycotic Diseases Branch is directed towards applying molecular genetic and taxonomic information to the development of novel nucleic-acid-based approaches to fungal identification. Our research also includes the development of non-culture-based procedures for the detection of fungi of public health importance, such as Histoplasma capsulatum and Coccidioides immitis, in environmental samples, particularly soil.
Molecular genetics of pathogenic fungi: epidemiologic, genomic, and environmental analysis
B.A. Lasker
The research activities of the Molecular Typing Unit of the Mycotic Diseases Branch focus on a number of opportunistic fungal pathogens, especially those responsible for aspergillosis, candidiasis, and penicilliosis. Research opportunities exist in the following general areas: (i) to develop and evaluate new PCR- and nucleotide sequence-based typing methods; (ii) to examine the population structure and genomic dynamics of patient and environmental isolates, including analysis for the identification of pathogenic or drug resistant clones, and cryptic speciation; (iii) to develop and evaluate novel methods for airborne and surface sampling of fungi for outbreak and other epidemiologic investigations; and (iv) to identify and characterize genes differentially expressed in vivo by Apergillus fumigatus during angioinvasion and vascular damage.
Genetics of Candida albicans and other medically important Candida species
T.J. Lott
Among the opportunistic yeasts, the genus Candida (with particular reference to the species albicans) is amenable to studies of population structure and genome organization, including the regulation and transmission of genes controlling pathogenicity and drug resistance. Current research activities in the Molecular Typing Unit of the Mycotic Diseases Branch involve work in the following general areas: (i) characterization of population structure, with emphasis on the epidemiology of host adaptation and drug resistance, and (ii) understanding genome organization and mechanisms of recombination, within the context of cellular pathogenesis. An example of this research is the identification of suitable genetic markers for following gene flow between populations and identifying mutations in genes having pleiotropic effects in drug efflux mechanisms.
Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Laboratory Fellowship Program
The goal of the EID Laboratory Fellowship Program is to attract and prepare scientists for careers in public health. This two-track program recruits qualified candidates at bachelors and masters level (for the one-year Training Fellowship Program) as well as at the postdoctoral level (for the two-year Research Fellowship Program). The Mycotic Diseases Branch participates in both programs.
For more information and application materials, visit the web site at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eidlfp.htm
International Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Laboratory Fellowship Program
The International EID Laboratory Fellowship is a one-year program designed for non-U.S. citizen doctoral level (Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent) scientists with an emphasis on professional development in laboratory-related aspects of infectious diseases. The training and research conducted under the Fellowship is intended to enhance laboratory practices in the Fellow's home country. Candidates must be nominated by a representative from the CDC (or a number of other organizations) who will encourage and assist them in completing and submitting an application. Applicants must also be sponsored by a director of a public health laboratory within their home country.
For more information: contact the Association of Public Health Laboratories phone: (202) 822-5227 ext 216
Epidemiology Training and Research Opportunities Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS)
The Epidemic Intelligence Service is a unique 2-year, post-graduate program of service and on-the-job training for health professionals interested in the practice of epidemiology. Every year CDC recruits 60-80 persons to enter the EIS and pursue on-the-job training in epidemiologic investigations, research, and public health surveillance. At present, the Mycotic Diseases Branch seeks to recruit one EIS officer each year. For more information and application materials, visit the web site at http://www.cdc.gov/eis/
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