Two Cornell University researchers have received $300,000 grants to pursue high-risk scientific research that could lead to advances in fighting fungal infections and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The Schwartz Research Fund Visionary Grants were awarded to Lori Huberman, an assistant professor in Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science, and Heather Feaga, an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology. The grants are funded by Cornell alumni Joan Poyner Schwartz and Ronald H. Schwartz, former National Institutes of Health scientists who have supported life sciences research at the university for a decade.
Huberman’s research will focus on understanding how fungi locate and infect hosts. Her team hopes to uncover the biological mechanisms fungi use to detect nutrient signals and grow toward potential hosts. Researchers believe that disrupting those processes could eventually help prevent fungal infections, which are responsible for an estimated 3.8 million deaths, 1 billion infections and roughly 30% of crop losses worldwide each year.
Using the model fungus Neurospora crassa, Huberman’s lab will investigate whether fungi sense nutrients at the tips of their cells over very short distances or integrate information across much larger areas. The project builds on collaborations with Cornell engineering researchers who have developed specialized microscopy tools to observe fungal growth and behavior.
Feaga’s grant will support research into how bacteria communicate with one another when stressed. Her lab has identified a cellular exporter that becomes more active when bacterial ribosomes — the structures responsible for producing proteins — are disrupted.
Researchers suspect stressed bacteria may release signaling molecules that warn neighboring cells of threats, including antibiotic exposure. If scientists can identify and block those molecules, it could make antibiotics more effective by preventing bacteria from entering protective survival states that allow them to withstand treatment.
Cornell officials said the grants are intended to support innovative research that may be too early-stage or uncertain to qualify for larger federal funding programs. The projects could eventually lead to new approaches for treating fungal diseases, combating antibiotic resistance and addressing other public health challenges.
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