Fungal Pathogenesis Section
Lucas Dos Santos Dias, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist
Contact: For contact information, search the NIH Enterprise Directory.
Major Areas of Research
- AIRE-dependent mechanisms of antifungal immunity and protection from autoimmunity in mouse models of AIRE deficiency and in APECED patients
- Novel mechanism-based strategies to treat fungal disease and autoimmunity in APECED and STAT1 gain-of-function patients
- Experimental models (mice) for the study of the mechanism of vaccine-induced immunity to Blastomyces and other fungal pathogens (Coccidioides, Candida, Histoplasma)
- Cellular immunology
- Fungal immunology
Program Description
In the Fungal Pathogenesis Section, we use an integrated bench-to-bedside multidisciplinary approach encompassing immunology, mycology, and genetics to investigate protection against and susceptibility to pathogenic fungi. We evaluate large cohorts of patients with inherited or acquired susceptibility to fungal disease and study antifungal immune responses in vitro and in vivo in a variety of clinically relevant mouse models of fungal disease. Thus, we employ various immunological, biological, and imaging approaches to measure biological determinants of disease outcomes in humans and mice. Our research directly informs clinically actionable interventions, including developing targeted preventive and therapeutic interventions in at-risk patients.
Biography
Education
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2022, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Ph.D., Microbiology, 2017, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
M.Sc., Biology and Biotecnology of Microorganisms, 2012, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
Bachelor, Biomedicine, 2010, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
Languages Spoken
Brazilian Portuguese, SpanishLucas did his postdoctoral research fellowship with Bruce Klein, where he focused on the development of fungal vaccines and mechanisms of T-cell-mediated antifungal immunity. He has accumulated more than 10 years of research experience in fungal immunology, as evidenced by 20 manuscripts and more than 300 citations. At NIAID, he is focused on various projects related to AIRE-dependent mechanisms of antifungal immunity and protection from autoimmunity in mouse models of AIRE deficiency and in APECED patients. His goal is to develop novel mechanism-based strategies to treat fungal disease and autoimmunity in APECED and STAT1 gain-of-function patients. His continued work as a scientist in the field of mycology will provide targets, tools, and mechanisms that will be useful for the development of vaccines, treatment, and diagnosis in the United States and abroad. As a result, the advancement in medical treatment of fungal diseases can lead not only to the overall health of patients but can also reduce, directly and indirectly, medical costs associated with fungal infections in the U.S., which, according to the CDC, was estimated at $7.2 billion in direct medical costs in 2017 based on administrative coding data, which was likely underestimated because of underdiagnosis and under coding.
Selected Publications
Woodring T, Dewey CN, Santos Dias LD, He X, Dobson HE, Wüthrich M, Klein B. Distinctive populations of CD4+T cells associated with vaccine efficacy. iScience. 2022 Aug 13;25(9):104934.
Kohn EM, Taira C, Dobson H, Dias LDS, Okaa U, Wiesner DL, Wüthrich M, Klein BS. Variation in Host Resistance to Blastomyces dermatitidis: Potential Use of Genetic Reference Panels and Advances in Immunophenotyping of Diverse Mouse Strains. mBio. 2022 Feb 22;13(1):e0340021.
Dos Santos Dias L, Dobson HE, Bakke BK, Kujoth GC, Huang J, Kohn EM, Taira CL, Wang H, Supekar NT, Fites JS, Gates D, Gomez CL, Specht CA, Levitz SM, Azadi P, Li L, Suresh M, Klein BS, Wüthrich M. Structural basis of Blastomyces Endoglucanase-2 adjuvancy in anti-fungal and -viral immunity. PLoS Pathog. 2021 Mar 18;17(3):e1009324.
Dobson HE, Dias LDS, Kohn EM, Fites S, Wiesner DL, Dileepan T, Kujoth GC, Abraham A, Ostroff GR, Klein BS, Wüthrich M. Antigen discovery unveils resident memory and migratory cell roles in antifungal resistance. Mucosal Immunol. 2020 May;13(3):518-529.
Rocke TE, Kingstad-Bakke B, Wüthrich M, Stading B, Abbott RC, Isidoro-Ayza M, Dobson HE, Dos Santos Dias L, Galles K, Lankton JS, Falendysz EA, Lorch JM, Fites JS, Lopera-Madrid J, White JP, Klein B, Osorio JE. Virally-vectored vaccine candidates against white-nose syndrome induce anti-fungal immune response in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). Sci Rep. 2019 May 1;9(1):6788.
Holanda RA, Muñoz JE, Dias LS, Silva LBR, Santos JRA, Pagliari S, Vieira ÉLM, Paixão TA, Taborda CP, Santos DA, Bruña-Romero O. Recombinant vaccines of a CD4+ T-cell epitope promote efficient control of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis burden by restraining primary organ infection. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017 Sep 22;11(9):e0005927.