Immunological Insights and Emerging Therapeutics in Medical Mycology

Paschalis Vergidis, MD, MSc, FECMM, is an Infectious Disease specialist with expertise in infections in the immunocompromised host. He trained in Infectious Diseases at Boston University Medical Center and Transplant Infectious Diseases at Mayo Clinic. In 2012, Dr. Vergidis joined the Transplant Infectious Disease Team at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2016, he relocated to the UK to join the National Aspergillosis Center at the University of Manchester then returned to Mayo Clinic in 2019. He is the Focus Group Chair of the Hematology-Oncology Infectious Disease Service, has directed the COVID-19 Service, and is the Ambulatory Antimicrobial Stewardship lead and Antimicrobial Stewardship Education chair. Dr. Vergidis is the site principal investigator for clinical trials on novel antifungal medications and serves as editor for Microbiology Spectrum. In recognition of his expertise in Medical Mycology, he has been accepted as Fellow of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology. Dr. Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis holds the Robert C. Hickey Chair in Clinical Care and serves as Deputy Head for Research in the Division of Internal Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. A distinguished alumnus of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he graduated as valedictorian. He completed his Internal Medicine training at Baylor College of Medicine and specialized in Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, earning a master's degree from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kontoyiannis is a global authority in mycology, with over 650 peer-reviewed publications and an H index of 130. His accolades include the American Society for Microbiology Award, the Drouhet Medal, and honorary PhDs from leading Greek universities. He is a fellow of numerous esteemed societies and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Recently, he received the IDSA Citation Award and the Harriet P. Dustan Award for 2023-2024. Dr. Kontoyiannis leads the ECMM Diamond Excellence in Mycology Center at MD Anderson and is the president-elect of The Mycoses Study Group Education Consortium.

• 1. Antifungal Host Defenses and the Risk of Invasive Fungal Infection2. The IL-17 Pathway and Mucosal Candidiasis3. The Importance of Spleen Tyrosine Kinase (Syk) in the Immune Response to Candidiasis4. Dectin-1, Interferon Expression and the Host Immune Response Against Aspergillus fumigatus5. The Role of Pentraxin-3 in Invasive Aspergillosis6. Breaches in Antifungal Immunity and Viral-Associated Aspergillosis7. CARD-9-Dependent Neutrophil Recruitment and Fungal Infection8. Dendritic Cell Responses to Cryptococcal Infection9. Development of Glucan Particle-Based Vaccines for Cryptococcosis10. Tissue Invasion in Mucormycosis and the Role of Coat Protein Homologs11. TNF-alpha Antagonists and Susceptibility to Histoplasmosis12. Genetic Predisposition to Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis13. Anti-CD20 Therapy and Risk of Pneumocystis Pneumonia14. Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and Risk of Fungal Infection15. Bioengineering T-cells to Treat Invasive Aspergillus Infection