معرفی
Jill Blankenship is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Biology Department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), within the College of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans, particularly the role of septin proteins in cell wall integrity, antifungal drug sensitivity, and filamentation processes critical for pathogenesis. Her laboratory investigates genetic and biochemical mechanisms underlying fungal virulence and drug resistance.
Research Interests: Jill’s work targets fungal pathogenesis, antifungal drug resistance, and cellular processes such as septin-mediated signaling. Key areas include understanding how septins regulate cell wall integrity (targeted by drugs like caspofungin) and their role in filamentation—a critical step for C. albicans infections. Her studies combine genetic knockout experiments, transcriptomic analysis, and biochemical assays to dissect these pathways.
Laboratory: Located in 507 AH, her lab collaborates on projects addressing clinical strain variation in filamentation and drug responses. Recent work examines regulators like calcineurin, RIM101, and TSC11 in clinical isolates of C. albicans.
Publications emphasize filamentation mechanisms, drug resistance pathways, and environmental stress responses in fungi. Her research bridges basic science and clinical applications, aiming to identify novel antifungal targets.
