Prof Buscaino’s research group is dedicated to understanding the biology of the most common human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, and to developing fungal-based platforms for producing nutritious, sustainable, and animal-free foods (mycofoods).

Professor Buscaino’s group will be based at the £75m Quadram Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute at the forefront of a new era in food and health research which brings together microbiologists, epidemiologists, bioinformaticians and clinicians to deliver impactful interdisciplinary research focused on microbes and human health.

Quadram Institute Director Professor Daniel Figeys said: “I’m delighted to announce Alessia Buscaino’s appointment as one of our new research group leaders. Her expertise in fungal genomics will really complement and strengthen our work on protecting and promoting human health in relation to food, microbes and the gut microbiome. We look forward to Alessia joining the Quadram team in the autumn.”

Professor Alessia Buscaino said: “I am delighted to be joining the Quadram Institute and to collaborate with colleagues both within the Institute and across the Norwich Research Park. Working alongside experts with complementary expertise in food and gut health will be a wonderful opportunity to deepen our understanding of the role of fungi in gut health and to explore their potential for sustainable food production.”

Originally from Sicily-Italy, Prof Buscaino trained in genomics and chromosome biology at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, where she conducted her PhD. In 2005, Professor Buscaino was awarded an EMBO long-term postdoctoral fellowship to conduct research at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology at the University of Edinburgh. She subsequently obtained an EMBO short-term fellowship to train in Candida albicans biology at Tel Aviv University. Professor Buscaino became an independent group leader in 2013 when she joined the Kent Fungal Group at the University of Kent.