Researchers from Rockefeller University and Necker Medical School in Paris worked together to discover one way fungal infections spread below the skin’s surface on a genetic level. The condition, known as dermatophytosis, can mean that an infection spreads to the lymph nodes, bones, digestive tract or the brain. The team of researchers discovered a genetic deficiency that makes this possible, shedding light on the theory that says genetic deficiencies can cause normally healthy people to become very ill from an infection.
“Our research showed that CARD9 deficiency is the genetic cause of deep dermatophytosis,” said senior scientist at the lab’s Necker division Anne Puel. “The primary infection was most often in childhood, when the patients showed recurrent skin or scalp ringworm, and nail infections. Due to their genetic defect and their resulting impaired immune response, the patients could not adequately fight the fungi. So instead of the germs being cleared from the body, they progressively spread until, in adulthood, the infection manifested in other body regions, which proved deadly in some cases.”
According to Rockefeller University, the researchers looked at the genomes of 17 otherwise healthy people who had deep dermatophytosis and found that a particular gene, CARD9, was deficient in all 17 people. The research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Infectious disease research and treatment is a major market on the global scale. In 2009, the international market for infectious disease treatments was valued at $90.4 billion. The market is expected to reach $138 billion by 2014. Antibiotic treatments for bacterial and fungal diseases are the largest part of the market, making up 53% of the total infectious disease treatment market. According to BBC Research, fungal disease treatments are expected to grow from a value of $4.6 billion in 2009 to $6.2 billion in 2014.
Rockefeller University Hospital
Image courtesy of Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University is also a well-funded market available for lab suppliers working to sell lab equipment. In 2012, the NIH awarded Rockefeller University $70.1 million in research funding. A full list of departments receiving NIH funding is available at the NIH website.The NSF also awarded Rockefeller University $844,385 in research funding in 2012.
Given Rockefeller University’s impressive funding statistics, its groundbreaking research into the genetic background of dermatophytosis, and the projected growth of the infectious diseases treatment market, it’s clear that Rockefeller University is a promising market for lab suppliers working to sell lab equipment at a top research university. Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. invites all lab suppliers to exhibit at our Rockefeller BioResearch Product Faire™ Event on October 1st, 2014. In 2012, our Rockefeller BioResearch Product Faire™ Event attracted 398 attendees. Of those who attended, 102 were purchasing agents, professors and post docs, and 22 were lab managers. The visitors came from 28 different research buildings and 77 departments around campus.
Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. is a full-service science research marketing and events-planning company that organizes on-campus life science events at top research universities. If you’d like to sell lab equipment and market your life science products at other life science events closer to home, we encourage you to view our 2014 calendar of events. For more information on our Rockefeller BioResearch Product Faire™ Event, or to view more detailed funding statistics for Rockefeller University, click on the button below.