042: Undone by Fungi: Mucormycosis with Ashraf Ibrahim

microTalk

There are increasing numbers of people with immunocompromised conditions that make them more susceptible to a variety of diseases, including fungal diseases.

A group of fungi in the order Mucorales can cause a potentially fatal disease called Mucormycosis in immunocompromised and diabetic individuals. This is a rare disease that is difficult to treat and that has a very high fatality rate.

Dr. Ashraf Ibrahim is a professor at the University of California Los Angeles and an expert on Mucormycosis. Dr. Ibrahim talks about why Mucormycosis cases are increasing, why there are not very many treatment options, what is the possibility of an immunotherapeutic to treat Mucor infections, how looking at beautiful fungi under the microscope led him into the field of microbiology, and how if he wasn’t a microbiologist he’d be playing soccer .

The microCase for listeners to solve is about Anna Nimity, an animal rights activist spending time with her grandparents and comes down with a mysterious illness after trying to save a stray cat.

Participants: Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA) Ashraf Ibrahim, Ph.D. (UCLA) Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA) Jesus Romo, Ph.D. (UTSA)