Research Questions/Hypotheses
Iron availability in the host influences the course of infection with Candida and azole efficacy and vice versa, iron availability and azole use influences mycobiome and fungal resistance development.
Approach/Methods
To test this hypothesis and delineate a mechanism the PhD student will perform experiments in bone marrow derived macrophages as well as a cohort study in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome: (i) determine the role of host iron metabolism in Candida infection and associated azole efficacy by investigating the role of macrophages and iron metabolism in Candida infection in vitro; (ii) investigation of mycobiome and resistance profile in patients on iron chelator therapy and/or azole therapy compared to patients without treatment.
