The Laboratory Working Party

Dr. Löffler is the head of the molecular biology laboratory of the Department of Internal Medicine.

For over 10 years, research in the group of Dr. Löffler is targeted towards immune recognition of A. fumigatus, genetic susceptibility to these fungi and molecular diagnosis of invasive fungal infections.

In addition, research is focused on identification, infection biology and immune recognition of cytomegalovirus and characterization of immune reconstitution after stem cell transplantation.

Pr. Bretagne is the head of the parasitology and mycology laboratories of the Medicine Faculty and Henri Mondor hospital.

For over 15 years, both the hospital and the faculty groups of Pr Bretagne develop diagnostic PCR assays for opportunistic diseases. The laboratory is also interested in genotyping of fungi to draw correlations between phenotypes and genotypes. The academic research is focused on the effects of Aspergillus spp. on the respiratory airway epithelium.

For 10 years the laboratory has been involved in several clinical studies dealing with invasive fungal infections in collaboration with the hematological department of Henri Mondor hospital.

Dr Morton is a post doctoral research fellow in the Department of Clinical Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin.

For the past four years he has been working in an Aspergillus Research Group led by Prof. Thomas Rogers. The work of this group has focused on PCR-based detection of fungal nucleic acids in patient samples and the identification of pathogenic fungi.

Other research in the group has examined the interaction between Aspergillus and immune cells to gain a more detailed understanding of the host-pathogen interactome.

Willem JG Melchers is associate professor in Molecular Microbiology. He is also head of the section Molecular Diagnostics of the Department of Medical Microbiology.

Dr. White is the lead clinical scientist for the regional mycology laboratory, the Wales Centre for Mycobacteria and deputy head of molecular diagnostics for NPHS microbiology Cardiff.

For the last 10 years his research has focused on the molecular diagnosis of invasive fungal infections, with an emphasis on Aspergillus and Candida and incorporating these tests in to a clinical setting.

Additional, research has focused on antifungal susceptibility, molecular detection and identification of mycobacteria and the molecular genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Ass. Prof. Lena Klingspor is the medical Head of the Mycology Unit at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge and Solna and also works as a consultant Senior Physician in Paediatrics.

Research has been focused on the field of Medical Mycology concerning: Epidemiology, Clinic, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment in children and adults. In diagnostics: To develop and to evaluate different diagnostic tests in patients.

Dr. McCulloch is a post doctoral research fellow working in the Microbiology department in the Royal Children‘s Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.

For the last 3 years, working as part of the Glasgow Pathogenic Fungal Research Group (GPFRG) with Dr’s Williams and Jones consultant microbiologists and Dr Ramage senior lecturer in microbiology at Glasgow University, the group has worked on molecular diagnostics of invasive fungal infections.

Research has also focused on biofilm formation, antifungal drug resistance mechanisms and treatment strategies for high risk patients.

Dr. Cuenca-Estrella is the Director of the Spanish Reference Laboratory of Medical Mycology where run a variety of research projects and scientific activities focused on fungal infections afflicting humans, early diagnosis of invasive fungal infections, standardization of antifungal susceptibility testing, resistance mechanisms, and taxonomy of fungal species.

Among others, Dr. Cuenca-Estrella is a member of several international associations and is a regular speaker at international meetings on aspects of fungal infections. He is the Chairman of European Fungal Infections Study Group of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (EFISG-ESCMID).

• Elisabeth Johnson, Bristol
• Martina Lengerova, Brno
• Tom Rogers, Dublin
• Dieter Buchheidt, Heidelberg
• Cornelia Lass-Florl, Innsbruck
• Richard Hobson, Leeds
• Johan Maertens, Leuven
• Sendid Boualem, Lille
• Chris Kibbler, London
• Manuel Cuenca Estrella, Madrid
• Malcolm Guiver, Manchester
• Petr Hamal, Olomouc
• Daniel Codl, Prague
• Jose Palomares, Seville
• Birgit Willinger, Vienna
• Catriona Halliday, Westmead
• Jacques Bille, Lausanne
• Maurizio Sanguinetti, Rome