Research:

Keywords: Immunoglobulin, fungus, polysaccharide, capsule, macrophage, Cryptococcus neoformans

Research Activities

The Casadevall laboratory is focused on understanding structure-function relationships in antibodies to infectious agents.

Summary of Research Program

Antibody immunity was first described in 1891 by von Behring and Kitasato, who demonstrated that protection could be transferred passively from an immunized host to a susceptible host. Today, monoclonal antibodies are among our most successful drugs for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases. Despite tremendous progress in our understanding of the antibody structure and function major problems remain unsolved including mechanisms of protection and the role of antibodies in immunity. The Casadevall laboratory research is focused on antibodies to the capsule of the polysaccharide of the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans and has discovered new functions for antibody-mediated immunity including direct effects of antibody binding on fungal metabolism. Another project looks at the role of catalytic antibodies on antibody-mediated protection and we have recently shown that much of neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 comes from antibody catalysis.

Publications and Interests: