{"689356":{"#nid":"689356","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Maria Granada","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoctor of Philosophy in Biology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMaria Granada\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWill defend her dissertation\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPHYSIOLOGICAL AND GENOMIC ADAPTATION OF CANDIDA GLABRATA TO HOST-ASSOCIATED NICHES AND STANDARD LAB MEDIA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E15, April, 2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E3:00 PM (EST) in EBB Krone, Conference Room: 4026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Advisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrank Rosenzweig, Ph.D., School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIngeborg Schmidt-Kray, Ph.D., School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESteve Diggle, Ph.D., School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBrian Hammer, Ph.D., School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGavin Sherlock, Ph.D., Department of Genetics, Stanford University Medical School\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EABSTRACT:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECandida glabrata\u003C\/em\u003E is an opportunistic fungal pathogen whose intrinsic drug resistance and ability to colonize different host niches pose major clinical challenges. Using RNA- and DNA-sequencing, we set out to understand how \u003Cem\u003EC. glabrata\u003C\/em\u003E adapts to different host niches by formulating media to simulate different host environments. First, I measured the genome-wide transcriptional response of lab strain ATCC 2001 over a 48-hour time course in artificial saliva (AS), artificial urine (AU) and in two standard laboratory media, Synthetic Complete (SC) and Roswell Park Memorial Institute-1640 (RPMI). Expression profiles and growth parameters differed markedly across conditions. Expression profiles normalized to SC-cultured yeast showed that cells cultured in AS induce proteostasis pathways, while cells cultured in AU downregulate this function. AU- and RPMI-cultured cells upregulate genes in nitrogen metabolism and metabolite biosynthesis, while the latter which is down-regulated in AS. RNA-Seq also revealed condition-specific activation of genes related to drug resistance and virulence. Next, five-fold replicated evolution experiments were carried out in AS, AU and SC for 200 generations starting from a common ancestor, ATCC 2001. Whole-genome, whole population sequencing performed at 50 generation intervals showed that AS- and AU-evolved populations accumulated different sets of de novo mutations, especially in transcription factors and ubiquitin\/proteasome pathways, whereas SC-evolved populations accumulated comparatively few mutations. Condition-specific evolutionary trajectories were correlated with condition-specific fitness gains, which were most pronounced in AU. Together, our findings demonstrate that the chemistry of simulated host niches influences \u003Cem\u003EC. glabrata\u003C\/em\u003E\u2019s physiology and evolutionary dynamics. They also suggest that niche-specific adaptation may influence antifungal susceptibility and disease severity \u003Cem\u003Ein vivo\u003C\/em\u003E. More broadly, this work highlights the importance of considering host-environment context when understanding how infections behave and predicting evolutionary outcomes in opportunistic pathogens.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPHYSIOLOGICAL AND GENOMIC ADAPTATION OF CANDIDA GLABRATA TO HOST-ASSOCIATED NICHES AND STANDARD LAB MEDIA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"PHYSIOLOGICAL AND GENOMIC ADAPTATION OF CANDIDA GLABRATA TO HOST-ASSOCIATED NICHES AND STANDARD LAB MEDIA  "}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2026-04-01 18:26:06","changed_gmt":"2026-04-01 18:26:39","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-04-15T15:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-04-15T17:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-04-15T17:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-04-15 19:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-04-15 21:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-04-15 21:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"EBB Krone, Conference Room: 4026","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}