Hi, I am Paula, and I am joining MFIG as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Dr. Margherita Bertuzzi’s lab.

I completed my PhD at the University of Birmingham under the supervision of Prof. Robin May, looking at the interaction between macrophages and the opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Specifically, I studied the non-lytic expulsion of live cryptococcal cells from within macrophages known as vomocytosis, and how this process is affected by viral co-infection and anti-viral response.

During my first postdoc appointment, I joined Prof. David Brough’s lab at The University of Manchester, studying inflammasome activation in macrophages. Inflammasomes are key mediators of inflammation, playing an important role during host responses to infection or injury. In the lab, we furthered the concept of NLRP3 being a sensor of organelle disruption, focusing on the cellular biology of the assembly and activation process, and uncovering novel interactors of proIL1β within the cell.

Now, I am joining MFIG and the Bertuzzi lab as part of a Wellcome Trust project grant looking at the adaptability of Mucorales fungi to host and natural stressors. My work aims to identify key components within Mucorales which can impact its ability to survive within the host environment and lead to successful infection, leveraging high throughput screening to identify attractive candidates before moving to in-depth analysis within infection models.

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