James Konopka
@jkonopka.bsky.social
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University. My research laboratory studies pathogenic fungi to help
Identify Identify new therapies. As a hobby, I enjoy brewing beer. Fungi are fascinating!
Identify Identify new therapies. As a hobby, I enjoy brewing beer. Fungi are fascinating!
Interested in how fungi respond to reactive oxygen species? Read our lab’s new review article recently published in MMBR:
A Roadmap to Chemically Reactive Species: how diverse oxidants affect Candida albicans and other fungi.
doi.org/10.1128/mmbr...
A Roadmap to Chemically Reactive Species: how diverse oxidants affect Candida albicans and other fungi.
doi.org/10.1128/mmbr...
A roadmap to chemically reactive species: how diverse oxidants affect Candida albicans and other fungi | Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
SUMMARYFungal pathogens cause widespread disease in humans, plants, and animals. Surviving
in diverse environments requires fungi to resist attack by a wide range of reactive
chemicals, including reac...
doi.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Interested in how fungi respond to reactive oxygen species? Read our lab’s new review article recently published in MMBR:
A Roadmap to Chemically Reactive Species: how diverse oxidants affect Candida albicans and other fungi.
doi.org/10.1128/mmbr...
A Roadmap to Chemically Reactive Species: how diverse oxidants affect Candida albicans and other fungi.
doi.org/10.1128/mmbr...
Tenure track Asst. Prof position
Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Stony Brook University
Aging or infectious diseases
Candidates who seek to understand aging or infectious diseases at the molecular or cellular level are encouraged to apply.
apply.interfolio.com/171941
Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Stony Brook University
Aging or infectious diseases
Candidates who seek to understand aging or infectious diseases at the molecular or cellular level are encouraged to apply.
apply.interfolio.com/171941
September 16, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Tenure track Asst. Prof position
Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Stony Brook University
Aging or infectious diseases
Candidates who seek to understand aging or infectious diseases at the molecular or cellular level are encouraged to apply.
apply.interfolio.com/171941
Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Stony Brook University
Aging or infectious diseases
Candidates who seek to understand aging or infectious diseases at the molecular or cellular level are encouraged to apply.
apply.interfolio.com/171941
Asst. Prof. position
Microbial Pathogenesis
Stony Brook University
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in the areas of virology, microbiology, and host-pathogen interactions.
apply.interfolio.com/173203
Microbial Pathogenesis
Stony Brook University
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in the areas of virology, microbiology, and host-pathogen interactions.
apply.interfolio.com/173203
September 16, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Asst. Prof. position
Microbial Pathogenesis
Stony Brook University
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in the areas of virology, microbiology, and host-pathogen interactions.
apply.interfolio.com/173203
Microbial Pathogenesis
Stony Brook University
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in the areas of virology, microbiology, and host-pathogen interactions.
apply.interfolio.com/173203
Associate Professor position- virology
Stony Brook University
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University invites applications for an Associate Professor tenure-track faculty position in the areas of virology and microbial pathogenesis.
apply.interfolio.com/173140
Stony Brook University
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University invites applications for an Associate Professor tenure-track faculty position in the areas of virology and microbial pathogenesis.
apply.interfolio.com/173140
September 16, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Associate Professor position- virology
Stony Brook University
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University invites applications for an Associate Professor tenure-track faculty position in the areas of virology and microbial pathogenesis.
apply.interfolio.com/173140
Stony Brook University
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University invites applications for an Associate Professor tenure-track faculty position in the areas of virology and microbial pathogenesis.
apply.interfolio.com/173140
The 2025 class of the Molecular Mycology course is off to a fantastic start!
August 3, 2025 at 11:11 PM
The 2025 class of the Molecular Mycology course is off to a fantastic start!
The 2025 Molecular Mycology course at the Marine Biology Lab in Woodshole MA is off to a great start! Fantastic lectures so far by Damian Krysan, Aaron Mitchell, Tamara Doering, (and me). Next up is Rob Cramer!
August 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
The 2025 Molecular Mycology course at the Marine Biology Lab in Woodshole MA is off to a great start! Fantastic lectures so far by Damian Krysan, Aaron Mitchell, Tamara Doering, (and me). Next up is Rob Cramer!
Happy to share our new publication. We adapted a proximity labeling method (TurboID) for Candida albicans and identified new eisosome proteins. Some new proteins (e.g. Ker1) mediate stress resistance and hyphal growth. Many new candidates remain to be studied
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
Proximity labeling identification of plasma membrane eisosome proteins in Candida albicans
Abstract. The ability of Candida albicans to resist stressful conditions in the host and grow invasively into tissues contributes to the virulence of this
academic.oup.com
June 4, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Happy to share our new publication. We adapted a proximity labeling method (TurboID) for Candida albicans and identified new eisosome proteins. Some new proteins (e.g. Ker1) mediate stress resistance and hyphal growth. Many new candidates remain to be studied
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
This paper from our lab reports on a protein kinase (Cwr1) in Candida albicans that resists cell wall stress. Interestingly, Cwr1-GFP was found in dynamic patches in the plasma membrane. Sometimes they co-localized with eisosomes; sometimes they were outside.
journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....
journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....
The Cwr1 protein kinase localizes to the plasma membrane and mediates resistance to cell wall stress in Candida albicans | mSphere
The ability of Candida albicans to grow invasively in the host and resist stress is critical for it to be an effective
human pathogen. Identifying the genes that promote these processes is important f...
journals.asm.org
April 29, 2025 at 1:42 PM
This paper from our lab reports on a protein kinase (Cwr1) in Candida albicans that resists cell wall stress. Interestingly, Cwr1-GFP was found in dynamic patches in the plasma membrane. Sometimes they co-localized with eisosomes; sometimes they were outside.
journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....
journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....
Terrific turnout for the Stand Up for Science rally in New York City yesterday.
March 8, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Terrific turnout for the Stand Up for Science rally in New York City yesterday.
Very interesting paper discussed at our lab journal club this past week describing mechanisms of pathogenesis for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white nose syndrome that is killing bats in North America.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Pathogenic strategies of Pseudogymnoascus destructans during torpor and arousal of hibernating bats
Millions of hibernating bats across North America have died from white-nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging disease caused by a psychrophilic (cold-loving) fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, that invad...
www.science.org
February 8, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Very interesting paper discussed at our lab journal club this past week describing mechanisms of pathogenesis for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white nose syndrome that is killing bats in North America.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Grad student in our lab Kara Swenson successfully defended her PhD dissertation today! The title is:
Antioxidant pathways that protect the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans during infection.
Antioxidant pathways that protect the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans during infection.
February 6, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Grad student in our lab Kara Swenson successfully defended her PhD dissertation today! The title is:
Antioxidant pathways that protect the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans during infection.
Antioxidant pathways that protect the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans during infection.
Another of the interesting eisosomes paper our lab discussed this past year.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Ferroptosis-protective membrane domains in quiescence
Quiescence is a common cellular state, required for stem cell maintenance and microorganismal survival under stress conditions or starvation. However,…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 7, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Another of the interesting eisosomes paper our lab discussed this past year.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
One of the most interesting eisosomes papers we discussed in our lab journal club this past year.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cryo-EM architecture of a near-native stretch-sensitive membrane microdomain - Nature
Cryo-electron microscopy, in vitro reconstitution and molecular dynamics simulations provide insight into the architecture of a plasma membrane microdomain in yeast, the organization and dynamics of t...
www.nature.com
January 7, 2025 at 9:33 PM
One of the most interesting eisosomes papers we discussed in our lab journal club this past year.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Did you know that our bodies make bleach (hypochlorous acid) to kill infecting microbes? Our studies showed that bleach quickly kills the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans by disrupting the plasma membrane, the critical lipid barrier surrounding the cell.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Candida albicans resistance to hypochlorous acid | mBio
Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), commonly known as bleach, is generated during the respiratory burst by phagocytes and is a key weapon used to attack Candida albicans and other microbial pathogens. However, the effects of hypochlorous acid on C. albicans have ...
journals.asm.org
December 30, 2024 at 8:37 PM
Did you know that our bodies make bleach (hypochlorous acid) to kill infecting microbes? Our studies showed that bleach quickly kills the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans by disrupting the plasma membrane, the critical lipid barrier surrounding the cell.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
New mechanisms for how plasma membrane eisosome domains regulate cell wall morphogenesis.
www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/...
www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/...
Sur7 mediates a novel pathway for PI4,5P2 regulation in C. albicans that promotes stress resistance and cell wall morphogenesis | Molecular Biology of the Cell
The human fungal pathogen Candida albicans can cause lethal systemic infections due to its ability to resist stress from the host and to undergo invasive hyphal growth. Previous studies showed that pl...
www.molbiolcell.org
December 21, 2024 at 10:29 PM
New mechanisms for how plasma membrane eisosome domains regulate cell wall morphogenesis.
www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/...
www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/...