Kelley Healey

Professor • Department of Biology

Website

My research is focused on studying human fungal pathogens and how they can escape antifungal therapy. Invasive fungal infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, resulting in 1.5 million deaths a year, with Candida species being the most prevalent cause of these infections. During my graduate training, I studied and published on how the fungal sphingolipid environment influenced the susceptibility of multiple fungi to echinocandin antifungals. As an Arnold O. Beckman postdoctoral fellow at the Public Health Research Institute (Rutgers Med), I remained interested in discovering and characterizing cellular mechanisms that influence the susceptibility of fungi to drugs and, in turn, may influence treatment effectiveness and patient survival. One of my focuses at WPU is identification and characterization of antifungal drug resistance and tolerance mechanisms in Candida glabrata. My research students and I are dedicated to unveiling how C. glabrata can readily develop resistance to multiple antifungals. We also study drug resistance in C. albicans and in the emerging fungal pathogen C. auris. I have engineered mutant strains and plasmids, and performed large scale sequencing and drug target identification. Additionally, I have direct and ample experience working with mouse models of systemic candidiasis and gastrointestinal colonization.

For a complete list of peer-reviewed works see MyBibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1Vo_pBjHEdxAt/bibliography/public/

Find us on twitter: @HealeyLab_WPU

Degrees

PhD Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine Philadelphia, PA

BS Biology, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA

Specialization

medical mycology; antimicrobial resistance

Representative Publications

Impact of Erg11 amino acid substitutions identified in Candida auris clade III isolates on triazole drug susceptibility; Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy; 2021
https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01624-21

Differential Regulation of Echinocandin Targets Fks1 and Fks2 in Candida glabrata by the Post-Transcriptional Regulator Ssd1.; , Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland); 2020
https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/6/3/143

Fungal resistance to echinocandins and the MDR phenomenon in Candida glabrata; , Journal of Fungi; 2018
https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/4/3/105

Limited ERG11 mutations identified in isolates of candida auris directly contribute to reduced azole susceptibility; Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy; Volume 62, Issue 10 2018
https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01427-18

The gastrointestinal tract is a major source of echinocandin drug resistance in a murine model of Candida glabrata colonization and systemic dissemination; Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy; Volume 61, Issue 12 2017
https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01412-17

Representative Presentations

Another emerging global health threat: Drug-resistant Candida auris
Theobald Smith Society, New Jersey Branch ASM - Summer 2020 Virtual Symposium Theobald Smith Society, New Jersey Branch ASM
, 2020

Cellular mechanisms that influence antifungal drug resistance in Candida species
Drexel University College of Medicine Graduate Program in Microbiology and Immunology Alumni Fellow award talk Drexel University College of Medicine Graduate Program in Microbiology and Immunology
, 2020

Differential Regulation of Echinocandin Targets Fks1 and Fks2 in Candida glabrata by the Post-Transcriptional Regulator Ssd1
American Society for Microbiology Microbe
San Francisco, CA 2019

Candida glabrata echinocandin resistance: Description and investigation of a multistep model involving tolerance and genetic escape
14th ASM Conference on Candida and Candidiasis
Providence, RI 2018

Effects of Antifungals on Acquisition of Drug Resistance and Breakthrough Infection in a Candida glabrata Gastrointestinal Colonization Model
American Society for Microbiology Microbe
New Orleans, LA 2017

Media

Researchers in a race to unravel mysteries of fungus at heart of NJ outbreak
https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/william-paterson-researchers-work-to-fight-drug-resistant-fungal-strain/
NJTV news feature on my laboratory’s work with Candida auris. Includes interviews of myself and two students.

The Gastrointestinal Tract is a Major Source of Antifungal Drug Resistance
https://medicineinnovates.com/gastrointestinal-tract-major-source-antifungal-drug-resistance-2/
Publication (Healey et al., 2017 Antimicrob Agent Chemother) was featured by Medicine Innovates, a website that promotes scientific work that has an impact on health, healthcare, and disease prevention

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