Paul Rowley, Ph.D.

Summary:  The primary focus of the Rowley laboratory is the discovery and characterization of antifungal proteins called “killer toxins” produced by different species of yeasts. we are working to understand how they could be applied to fight fungal diseases in humans, plants, and animals.

Minimum Classes: Introductory biology

Projects:

Killer yeasts from the environment as a source of novel chemotherapeutic compounds.
Antimicrobial compounds produced by yeasts are known to benefit their host but could also have biotechnological applications. This project will seek to characterize toxins produced by “killer” yeasts and understand their activity against important fungal pathogens using techniques from microbiology. This project will involve isolating wild yeasts from the environment (particularly yeasts associated with insects) and testing for toxin production. Toxins with novel antifungal activities will then be isolated for further mechanistic study.