Professor Alessia Buscaino from the Quadram Institute will lead a new study investigating how fungi adapt to life in the human gut, to address the growing global health challenge of fungal infections.

Supported by £2.7 million of funding from Wellcome’s Biology of Fungal Adaptation programme, the five-year research project leverages a network of leading international experts – Professor Buscaino, Professor Ana Traven from Monash University and Professor Kevin Foster from the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford – to uncover what drives fungi to switch from harmless members of the gut microbiota to disease-causing pathogens.

Candida yeasts are a familiar cause of fungal infections and cause thrush, which is irritating but mostly harmless.

Candida albicans, the most prevalent of these yeasts, can live in harmony with us. It is a common member of the gut microbiota, the population of microbes that live in our gut and contributes to good health.

But when the balance of those microbes, or our immune system are disrupted, Candida albicans can overgrow and escape into the bloodstream, which can lead to severe, life-threatening infections.

Globally there are around half a million life-threatening infections each year, so there is a need to better understand what triggers this change in yeasts.

Prof. Buscaino joined the Quadram Institute in October 2025, joining from the University of Kent where a recent breakthrough from the Buscaino Lab discovered Candida albicans possesses an active molecular “switch” in the form of an RNA interference (RNAi) pathway, that enables cells to control which genes are active, fine-tuning their activity in response to environmental change.

This landmark discovery overturns decades of assumptions in fungal biology and was recognised as a finalist for the 2024 Cozzarelli Prize that recognises scientific excellence and originality.

Building directly on this, the new project, (RNAi in Candida albicans: adaptation, commensalism and pathogenesis) will investigate how this RNAi pathway helps C. albicans adapt to the gut environment, interact with the immune system and other microbes in the microbiome, and determine whether it remains a benign resident or becomes a dangerous pathogen.

The project unites leading expertise across three institutions:

• Quadram Institute (UK) – Lead institution. Professor Alessia Buscaino’s group will dissect the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms by which RNAi regulates fungal adaptation and gene expression.
• Monash University (Australia) – Professor Ana Traven will explore how RNAi influences fungal interactions with host immune cells and contributes to infection dynamics.
• University of Oxford (UK) – Professor Kevin Foster will study how RNAi affects fungal relationships with gut bacteria using ecological approaches.

“It is exciting that Wellcome has recognised the importance of fungal organisms in health and disease through this funding call,” said Prof. Buscaino.

“Over half of us live with a benign population of Candida albicans as part of our normal gut microbiome, yet we know that for many people something changes leading to life-threatening infections.”

“This interdisciplinary project brings together world-leading expertise in fungal biology, infection, and microbial ecology, combining the complementary strengths of three outstanding research institutions — the Quadram Institute, Monash University, and the University of Oxford — to tackle one of the most fascinating questions in microbiome science.”

“We are excited to build this international research network for studying fungi in an interdisciplinary and comprehensively way” said Professor Traven. “In addition to the discoveries that we hope make, it will be a fabulous opportunity for research training and integrating researchers from the Global North with those from the Global South using Monash’s position in the Indo-Pacific region. This is important, as this region is significantly affected by fungal diseases.”