University of California-San Francisco · Microbiology & ImmunologyThermal Dimorphism Research Lab
Anita Sil · San Francisco, California
Research Focus
Dr. Anita Sil's lab at UCSF focuses on studying how the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum changes its form and behavior in response to temperature, which is crucial for its ability to infect humans. Their research aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind this transformation, including the role of specific proteins that help the fungus evade the immune system. By exploring these biological processes, the lab hopes to enhance our understanding of fungal infections and find new strategies for treating them.
Histoplasma capsulatumthermally dimorphic fungivirulencemolecular geneticshost-pathogen interactions
Research Aims
4AIM 01Identify molecular signals that trigger the morphological changes in Histoplasma capsulatum in response to temperature.
AIM 02Investigate the role of cystine-knot proteins in Histoplasma-host interactions.
AIM 03Examine how genomic mutations influence yeast-phase growth and virulence.
AIM 04Characterize transcriptional responses of macrophages infected with different Histoplasma variants.
Skills the Lab Values
CRISPR technologyRNA sequencingcell culturemouse modelsgene expression profilingATAC-seqWestern blotmolecular cloning
Output against the department
Publications100bottom 35% of dept.312th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.7kbottom 36% of dept.312th of 486
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.