Germination of a Field: Women in Candida albicans Research

Candida albicans is a common human fungal pathogen that was first described in the 1930s and is currently one of the major causes of invasive fungal infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. Since its first identification and association with disease, C. albicans has been the subject of intense research investigations. In this review, we focus on the trailblazing women who made instrumental discoveries about some of the key research questions that we are still working on answering today. We highlight five major areas of C. albicans research: morphogenesis, drug resistance, polymicrobial interactions, in vivo pathogenesis, and host immune responses. In each section, we discuss early findings by women researchers as well as current, cutting-edge research being performed by women leaders in the field. In many cases, some of the “common knowledge” in C. albicans biology was first described by women, and we hope to re-emphasize their contributions to the work that is still being carried out today.