John Perfect and Paul Magwene Laboratories
Duke University
Sands Building, Room 337
Email: marhiah.montoya@duke.edu
Research Interests:
My primary research interest is in identifying ways to approach infectious disease prevention, detection, and treatment practices to improve patient health outcomes and eliminate health disparities. My research focuses on cryptococcal infections and combines quantitative genetics, microbiology, and epidemiology to understand the relationship between host, pathogen, and healthcare. Before coming to Duke I received my Ph.D. in Translational Biomedical Science from the University of Rochester. My dissertation research focused on utilizing a translational approach to improve clinical outcomes of invasive fungal infections through disease surveillance and antifungal drug discovery. Currently, I am performing a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants in Cryptococcus that are associated with virulence, antifungal susceptibility, and clinical outcomes.
Personal Interests:
When not in the lab, I spend my time hanging out with my fur baby Goob while I relax crocheting items for my small business, Castorena Creations, LLC (www.castorenacreations.com Instagram/Facebook @CastorenaCreations)
Publications:
Montoya MC, Magwene PM, Perfect JR. Associations between Cryptococcus Genotypes, Phenotypes, and Clinical Parameters of Human Disease: A Review. Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland). 2021;7(4). Epub 2021/04/04. doi: 10.3390/jof7040260. PubMed PMID: 33808500; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC8067209.
Montoya MC, Beattie S, Alden KM, Krysan DJ. Derivatives of the Antimalarial Drug Mefloquine Are Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Molecules with Activity against Drug-Resistant Clinical Isolates. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy. 2020;64(3). Epub 2020/01/08. doi: 10.1128/aac.02331-19. PubMed PMID: 31907188; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC7038245.
Montoya MC, Moye-Rowley WS, Krysan DJ. Candida auris: The Canary in the Mine of Antifungal Drug Resistance. ACS infectious diseases. 2019;5(9):1487-92. Epub 2019/08/02. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.9b00239. PubMed PMID: 31369237.
Fon Tacer K, Montoya MC, Oatley MJ, Lord T, Oatley JM, Klein J, et al. MAGE cancer-testis antigens protect the mammalian germline under environmental stress. Science advances. 2019;5(5):eaav4832. Epub 2019/06/01. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aav4832. PubMed PMID: 31149633; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC6541465.
Montoya MC, Krysan DJ. Repurposing Estrogen Receptor Antagonists for the Treatment of Infectious Disease. mBio. 2018;9(6). Epub 2018/12/20. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02272-18. PubMed PMID: 30563895; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC6299222.
Montoya MC, DiDone L, Heier RF, Meyers MJ, Krysan DJ. Antifungal Phenothiazines: Optimization, Characterization of Mechanism, and Modulation of Neuroreceptor Activity. ACS infectious diseases. 2018;4(4):499-507. Epub 2017/10/24. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.7b00157. PubMed PMID: 29058407.