Jon Woods

1982 – B.A., Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
1989 – Ph.D., M.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
1989-94 – Postdoral Fellow, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

Our laboratory is focused on understanding the basic biology and pathogenetic mechanisms of the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum using a variety of molecular approaches. H. capsulatum is a major cause of respiratory and systemic mycosis in the United States and worldwide, particularly in immunocompromised people such as those with AIDS. It is a facultative intracellular pathogen that survives and replicates in the harsh environment of the host macrophage phagolysosome to cause disease. Molecular genetic tools and techniques have only recently been developed for this organism. We study virulence determinants (e.g., adhesins, secreted enzymes, iron acquisition mechanisms), environmental gene regulation (e.g., related to iron, oxidative stress, conditions occurring in vivo in the host cell or animal during infection), and interactions with the mammalian host (e.g., attachment and entry into macrophages, intraphagolysosomal survival).