The Race Against Antifungal Resistance

The WHO calls the growing resistance of fungi towards anti-fungal drugs one of the most underestimated threats worldwide. The widespread use of these medicines and agricultural fungicides makes infections in humans and plants increasingly difficult to treat. With over 300 million people already affected and nearly 2.5 million deaths each year, how can we use antifungal medicine responsibly? What is needed to protect human and plant health? Perhaps listening to the fungal sounds may help doctors choose the right treatment. 

Together with Kristina Haslinger, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Biology, we will explore the growing threat of fungi and what we can do about it. Aleksandre Japaridze from SoundCell will let us hear fungal sounds detected using a pioneering technology he and his colleagues developed, and explain how these sounds can help determine the sensitivity of fungi to antifungal medication.

Kristina Haslinger is Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Biology at the University of Groningen. Her research focuses on natural small molecules that microorganisms use to communicate and compete, and how these molecules can be harnessed for applications in healthcare and agriculture. Her group studies how microorganisms produce these substances and how they can be sustainably produced at scale. At the University of Groningen, she teaches courses on biotechnology, medicinal natural product biosynthesis, herbal medicines, and the treatment of fungal infections.

Aleksandre Japaridze completed his PhD in Physics at EPFL in Switzerland before working as a postdoctoral researcher at TU Delft. He is now Chief Technology Officer at SoundCell, a TU Delft spin-off developing technology that can rapidly determine whether individual bacteria and fungi are alive by detecting the tiny forces and movements they produce. By translating these signals into sound, SoundCell can ‘listen’ to microorganisms and determine whether they are sensitive to antimicrobial drugs.

This is the second part in our series Fascinating Fungi
Fungi are everywhere. They thrive both in the soil beneath our feet and on the skin of our bodies. While often associated with disease and decay, fungi are much more than that. In this series we take a closer look at the mesmerizing world of fungi. We explore the relationships they form with plants, listen to the sound they make, dive deeper into their medicinal properties and discover how mushrooms can be made into a t-shirt. 

12 November | A Hidden World Beneath Our Feet
1 December | The Race Against Antifungal Resistance
27 January | The Future is Fungi 
16 February | The Mind on Mushrooms 

More information will follow soon

©Photo: Vasilis Kokkoris