DeVEnIR: defining vulvovaginal candidiasis - Elements of infection and remedy.
Description: Female specific health conditions are underrepresented in research. The taboo felt by women to talk about intimate wellbeing is fed by this gender gap in scientific knowledge. This project aims to meet these needs by studying one of the most prevalent female-specific infections, vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), and paving the way towards its efficient diagnosis and treatment. About 70% of women worldwide suffer from vaginal candidiasis at least once in their life. An episode of this fungal infection is accompanied by a burning sensation, pain, and a reduced mental wellbeing. Some women (about 5%) encounter such infectionsat least four times a year, referring to recurrent(R) VVC. The design of efficient diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for (R)VVC is hindered by a knowledge gap surrounding vaginal health. To meet the absolute need for more information, this project will characterize the role of the microbiome, metabolome, immune system, and pathogen characteristics in (R)VVC. To this end, a large sampling platform of women with/without VVC will be established in this project. We will identify the most important and clinically relevant micro-organisms, metabolites, and immune factors in VVC pathogenesis. VVC models will be developed and optimized, which will be used to validate the causality of the correlations identified in the cohort. Identified correlations will be proposed as biomarkers, and microbes, metabolites, and combinations, which effectively lower pathogenicity of Candida species, will be further investigated for therapeutic potential. State-of-the-art tools and know how in the consortium will allow us to unravel the involved molecular pathways and elucidate how these can be exploited to optimize therapeutic efficacy. Finally, the knowledge gathered in this project will be used to improve literacy of women on VVC using platforms established by the consortium as well as novel tools to be developed in this project.
Funder: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Funding type: grant
Funder scheme: FWO Strategic Basic Research (SBO)
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2027-09-30
Investigator: Sarah Lebeer
Institution: UAntwerpen
Funded outputs count: 15
Funder award ID: S006424N
OpenAlex ID: G1754496669