Michelle Howard, PhD, has always been interested in pediatric cancers, but she credits her patients, not her profession, for pushing her and her research team toward the next innovative solution.

Fungal infections are a major contributor to illness and death among people with weakened immune systems. In these patients, fungal infections caused by molds or fungi are complicated to treat due to limited drug classes and antifungal drug resistance. Sarah Beattie, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics-infectious diseases, at University of Iowa Health Care, and her team, are using high-throughput drug screening against the most common disease-causing mold, Aspergillus fumigatus, to identify new treatments. Beattie and her team hope to improve treatments for fungal and invasive mold infections, moving toward a future in which treatments are safer and more effective for patients who urgently need them.