Dr. Alexandra Brand PhD, FRSB

Associate Professor & Wellcome Senior Research Fellow

Research Focus

Directional growth of fungal pathogens

Scientific Activities

My research primarily focuses on how the hyphae of human fungal pathogens grow and steer during invasive fungal disease and in medical biofilms. I also work on the biosynthetic pathway of myriocin, a fungal metabolite and potent immunosuppressant.

Significant Publications

Thomson DD, Wehmeier SW, FitzRoy J, Janmey P, Caballero-Lima D, Crossley A & Brand AC (2015) ‘Contact-induced apical asymmetry drives the thigmotropic responses of Candida albicans hyphae.’ Cellular Microbiology 17:342-54.

Brand AC, Morrison E, Milne S, Gonia S, Gale CA & Gow NAR (2014) ‘Cdc42 GTPase dynamics control directional growth responses.’ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 111:811-6.

Brand AC (2012) ‘Hyphal growth in human fungal pathogens and its role in virulence’, Journal of International Microbiology, 2012;2012:517529.

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Collaborators