Sponsored Projects for Undergraduate Research

The human disease Valley Fever is caused when a patient inhales airborne spores of the fungus Coccidioides spp. In the US, an estimated 150,000 people are infected with Coccidioides every year, mostly in arid regions of the Southwest. Under climate change, the fungus is expected to increase in prevalence in these areas and to expand its range. For the ~40% of Coccidioides infections that manifest with symptoms, pneumonia and fever are most common, including in immunocompetent individuals. In 2-8% of patients, Coccidioides spreads from the lung to other organs. The mortality rate for the latter disseminated disease exceeds 30%, with patient deaths in large part following treatment failure. Indeed, current antifungal drugs can be of limited efficacy even in disease restricted to the lungs, often requiring courses of six months or more. Thus Valley Fever gives rise to significant morbidity and mortality in endemic areas, and avoiding exposure remains the first line of defense.

So far, what we know is that we can find Coccidioides in soils from hot, dry regions. But we have little idea which specific niches might be particularly favorable for the organism or what its behaviors would be there. Preliminary data from the Brem lab indicates that desiccation drives Coccidioides to make infectious spores. We now want to know as much as we can about the molecular basis of this behavior. What we find will have ultimate impact on methods to predict incidence and transmission of Coccidioides in the environment, and improved Valley Fever disease control.