My lab is using Cryptococcus neoformans as a model human pathogenic fungus to gain insights into the pathogenesis of fungal infections. The ultimate hope is to translate these insights into improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of fungal diseases in humans. The lab has focused on two main areas: high temperature growth and growth within macrophages. We are using a variety of genetic screens to identify genes that are important for this yeast to grow at human body temperature, and within macrophages.