Investigating innate immune escape mechanisms of the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans

Macrophages are a first line of defense against C. albicans, a fungus which causes life-threatening infections. After phagocytosis by macrophages, C. albicans can escape by forming hyphae (filaments). In this thesis I used sophisticated imaging approaches to capture interactions between C. albicans and macrophages. First, I expanded our knowledge of how macrophages are killed by escaping C. albicans hyphae. Next, I developed a new imaging assay that quantitates the escape of C. albicans hyphae from macrophages. Using this assay, I uncovered previously unknown mediators of C. albicans escape: the fungal toxin candidalysin, and macrophage cell death pathways (pyroptosis and ETosis).