Chinaemerem U. Onyishi

This study identifies alternatively activated myeloid cells as drivers of extracellular fungal persistence in pulmonary granulomas through T helper 2 cell signaling.

The paper identifies a cholesterol metabolite that spatially organizes TH2 cells during fungal-induced pulmonary inflammation, promoting fungal persistence and suppressing interferon-gamma responses.

The paper identifies widespread alternative TSS usage in Cryptococcus fungi in response to environmental cues and shows that the transcription factor Tur1 regulates this process genome-wide.

This study shows that loss of MARCO in macrophages leads to increased vomocytosis of Cryptococcus neoformans.

The paper tests the accidental pathogen hypothesis by identifying a QTL linked to amoeba resistance and melanization in Cryptococcus species, finding no correlation with macrophage resistance or virulence.