Lundquist immunologist and former KL2 scholar receives K01 grant to advance infectious disease research

Shakti Singh, PhD, MS, a CTSI KL2 scholar alum, has received a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The NIAID K01 award offers 3 to 5 years of support to early-career research scientists to aid in their ongoing career development. 

Dr. Singh's K01 research project ("Role of multi-drug resistant Candida auris Hyr1 / Iff-like proteins in virulence and their potential as vaccine targets") aims to study Candida auris, a recently discovered Candida species that causes life-threatening bloodstream infections (BSI) in immunosuppressed patients. The grant funding will support Dr. Singh's efforts to study the role of three Hyr1/Iff family (CAU-HIL) proteins in C. auris virulence, and determine the proteins' potential application in developing a vaccine.

Singh is currently an assistant professor at the UCLA School of Medicine, and investigator at the Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Singh was also a UCLA Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) KL2 Scholar awardee in the 2022 cohort. During his time in the program, his KL2 mentors included:

• Ashraf Ibrahim, PhD, Lundquist Institute, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
• Scott Filler, MD, Lundquist Institute, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
• Jack E. Edwards Jr., MD, Lundquist Institute, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
• Bruce Klein, MD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

For more information about the KL2 Translational Science Scholars program, visit the KL2 homepage.

Photo source: The Lundquist Institute