Shakti Singh, PhD, MS
Investigator, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Torrance
Infectious Disease Faculty, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance
Assistant Professor-in-Residence, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
Contact
HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTION AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE
Research Description
The overreaching theme of Dr. Singh’s research is understanding fungal pathogenesis and interaction with the host immune system and using this knowledge to model fungal diseases and develop novel vaccines and immunotherapies.Dr. Singh’s laboratory currently focuses on an emerging fungal pathogen, Candida auris, which has rapidly spread globally. Candida auris is resistant to all clinically approved antifungal drugs and has a high mortality rate of approximately 60%. Candida auris colonizes and spreads in healthcare facilities. Candida auris can colonize human skin and cause invasive infections, particularly in immunocompromised and hospitalized patients with indwelling medical devices such as central venous catheters. Due to these reasons, both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Candida auris an “Urgent/Top Threat .” Candida auris pathogenic and virulence mechanisms remain largely unknown despite these clinical challenges.
To address this, the lab employs cutting-edge bioinformatics, immuno-proteomics, molecular biology, and immunological approaches to unravel and characterize novel virulence factors. Using clinically relevant animal models, we aim to translate this knowledge into innovative immune-based prophylactic and therapeutic interventions.
Learn more about Dr. Singh’s Laboratory at: www.singh-laboratory.com
Theme Groups
Research Interests
Education
- BS, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, UP, India
- MS, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, UP, India
- PhD, University of Alberta, AB, Canada
Recent and/or Significant Publications
Santana DJ, Anku JAE, Zhao G, Zarnowski R, Johnson CJ, Hautau H, Visser ND, Ibrahim AS, Andes D, Nett JE, Singh S and O'Meara TR. A Candida auris-specific adhesin, Scf1, governs surface association, colonization, and virulence. Science. 2023 Sep 29;381(6665):1461-1467. Epub 2023 Sep 28. PMID: 37769084
Singh S, Barbarino A, Youssef EG, Coleman D, Gebremariam T, Ibrahim AS. Protective Efficacy of Anti-Hyr1p Monoclonal Antibody against Systemic Candidiasis Due to Multi-Drug-Resistant Candida auris. Journal of Fungi. 2023 Jan 12;9(1):103. PMID: 36675924.
Singh S, Uppuluri P, Mamouei Z, Alqarihi A, Elhassan H, French S, Lockhart SR, Chiller T, Edwards Jr JE, Ibrahim AS. The NDV-3A vaccine protects mice from multidrug resistant Candida auris infection. PLoS Pathogens. 2019 Aug 5; 15(8): e1007460. PMID: 31381597
Iyer KA, Camara K, Daniel-Ivadd M, Trilles R, Pimentel-Elardod SM, Fossen JL, Marchillo K, Liu Z, Singh S, Muñoz JF, Kim SH, Porco JA Jr, Cuomo CA, Williams NS, Ibrahim AS, Edwards JE Jr, Andes DR, Nodwell JR, Brown LE, Whitesell L, Robbins N, Cowen LE. Novel 3,3-diarylated oxindole efflux inhibitor provides a promising approach to combat azole resistance in the emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris. Nature Communications. 2020 Dec 22; 11, 6429. PMID: 33353950
Soliman SSM, Baldin C, Gu Y, Singh S, Gebremariam T, Swidergall M, Alqarihi A, Youssef EG, Alkhazraji S, Pikoulas A, Perske C, Venkataramani V, Rich A, Bruno VM, Hotopp JD, Mantis NJ, Edwards JE Jr, Filler SG, Chamilos G, Vitetta ES, Ibrahim AS. Mucoricin is a Ricin-Like Toxin that is Critical for the Pathogenesis of Mucormycosis. Nature Microbiology. 2021 Jan 18. PMID: 33462434
Ost K, O’ Meara TR, Stephens WZ, Chiaro T, Zhou H, Penman J, Bell R, Catanzaro JR, Song D, Singh S, Call DH, Hwang-Wong E, Hanson KE, Valentine JF, Christensen KA, O’Connell RM, Cormack B, Ibrahim AI, Palm NW, Noble SM & Round JL. Adaptive immunity promotes a mutually beneficial interaction between commensal eukaryotes. Nature. 2021 July 14, 596, pages114–118. PMID: 34262174