Kyungyoon (Yoon) Yoo
Education:
B.A. Vassar College (2020)
Current Position:
4th Year MSTP
2nd Year Graduate Student
Advisor:
Bettina Fries, MD
Graduate Program:
Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interest:
In the Fries Lab, we study the pathogenesis of opportunistic pathogens such as the fungi Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn). Cn is an opportunistic yeast that can cause fungal meningoencephalitis. Cn cells go through a series of asymmetric divisions and the aging mother cells increasingly manifest phenotypic changes, allowing them to survive the host environment and accumulate during chronic infection. My thesis project will focus on how these older Cn cells regulate their metabolism to promote immune cell evasion and antifungal resistance. So far, I have found that older cells undergo a series of mitochondrial adaptations, making them more resistant to antifungals. I plan to examine how these age-associated mitochondrial changes drive downstream metabolic regulation and the mechanism by which the aging process drives antifungal resistance. Additionally, I plan to study how different aspects of metabolism affect host-pathogen interaction that contributes to altering the outcome of Cn infection.
Publications:
Kohler, K., Cekuta, B., Arshad, F., Bareket, O., Moskowitz, D., Nikpour, N., . . . Yoo, K. Y. (2018). Building the 'Simbulance': An Ambulance Simulator. Journal of Emergency Medical Services.
Moon K, Sim M, Tai CH, Yoo K, Merzbacher C, Yu SH, Kim DD, Lee J, Förstner KU, Chen Q, Stibitz S, Knipling LG, Hinton DM. Identification of BvgA-Dependent and BvgA-Independent Small RNAs (sRNAs) in Bordetella pertussis Using the Prokaryotic sRNA Prediction Toolkit ANNOgesic. Spectr. 2021 Oct 31;9(2):e0004421.
Conference Posters/Presentations:
Yoo K., Kronbauer de Oliveira N., Bhattacharya S., Fries BC. (2023). Metabolic Changes Contributing to Age-Associated Antifungal Tolerance in Cryptococcus neoformans. IDWeek2023, Boston, MA.
Kronbauer de Oliveira N., Yoo K., Gambhir R., Fries BC. (2023). Differences in the Regulation of Longevity in Two Mating Types of Cryptococcus neoformans. ASM Microbe, Houston, TX.
Yoo K., Bhattacharya S., Fries BC. (2023). Changes in Mitochondrial Function that Contribute to Age-Associated Antifungal Tolerance in Cryptococcus neoformans. 4th Symposium on Infectious Diseases in the Immunocompromised Host, Seattle, WA.
