Marc Swidergall, PhD

Marc Swidergall, PhD

Investigator, The Lundquist Institute
Division of Infectious Diseases, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

Innate and adaptive antifungal immune responses

Research Description

Dr. Swidergalls's laboratory focuses on cellular and molecular factors that regulate the immune response against mucosal and invasive candidiasis. Dr Swidergall’s goal is to develop a detailed mechanistic understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of innate and adaptive immune responses against Candida species with an aim to devise novel strategies to supplement the current antifungal drug treatment. To this end, his laboratory utilizes in vitro cell culture systems and clinically relevant mouse models of mucosal and systemic infections to study host-fungal interactions by using a variety of immunological, biological, and imaging approaches.
Theme Groups
Research Interests

Education

  • BS, 2010, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
  • MS, 2012, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
  • PhD, 2015, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany

Recent and/or Significant Publications

Swidergall M, Khalaji M, Solis NV, Moyes DL, Drummond RA, Hube B, Lionakis MS, Murdoch C, Filler SG, Naglik JR. Candidalysin Is Required for Neutrophil Recruitment and Virulence During Systemic Candida albicans Infection. J Infect Dis. 2019 Sep 26;220(9):1477-1488.
Swidergall M, Solis NV, Wang Z, Phan QT, Marshall ME, Lionakis MS, Pearlman E, Filler SG. 2019. EphA2 Is a Neutrophil Receptor for Candida albicans that Stimulates Antifungal Activity during Oropharyngeal Infection. Cell Rep. 2019 Jul 9; 28(2): 423–433.e5.
Swidergall M, Solis NV, Lionakis MS, Filler SG. EphA2 is an epithelial cell pattern recognition receptor for fungal β-glucans. Nat Microbiol 2018; 3:53–61.
Solis NV, Swidergall M, Bruno VM, Gaffen SL, Filler SG. The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Governs Epithelial Cell Invasion during Oropharyngeal Candidiasis.mBio. 2017 Mar 21;8(2).
Liu H, Lee MJ, Solis NV, Phan QT, Swidergall M, Ralph B, Ibrahim AS, Sheppard DC, Filler SG. 2016. Aspergillus fumigatus CalA binds to integrin α5β1 and mediates host cell invasion. Nat Microbiol 2017; 2, 16211.