Slavena Vylkova, PhD
Project Manager Scientific Com
Medicine
School of Medicine

Previously, Slavena was a research assistant professor at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, where she led a research group focusing on the molecular basis of metabolic adaptation of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans to the host niches and associated microbiota. She received her PhD in Oral Biology from State University of New York at Buffalo with Dr. Mira Edgerton and her postdoctoral training in Dr. Michael Lorenz's laboratory in McGovern Medical School in Houston, TX.

• Functional analysis of the Candida albicans ECE1 Promoter.
  Microbiology spectrum 2023 Garbe E, Thielemann N, Hohner S, Kumar A, Vylkova S, Kurzai O, Martin R
• Systematic Metabolic Profiling Identifies De Novo Sphingolipid Synthesis as Hypha Associated and Essential for Candida albicans Filamentation.
  mSystems 2022 Garbe E, Gerwien F, Driesch D, Müller T, Böttcher B, Gräler M, Vylkova S
• Impaired amino acid uptake leads to global metabolic imbalance of Candida albicans biofilms.
  NPJ biofilms and microbiomes 2022 Böttcher B, Driesch D, Krüger T, Garbe E, Gerwien F, Kniemeyer O, Brakhage AA, Vylkova S
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus colonisation antagonizes Candida albicans by forcing metabolic adaptations that compromise pathogenicity.
  Nature communications 2022 Alonso-Roman R, Last A, Mirhakkak MH, Sprague JL, Möller L, Großmann P, Graf K, Gratz R, Mogavero S, Vylkova S, Panagiotou G, Schäuble S, Hube B, Gresnigt MS
• Candida albicans SR-Like Protein Kinases Regulate Different Cellular Processes: Sky1 Is Involved in Control of Ion Homeostasis, While Sky2 Is Important for Dipeptide Utilization.
  Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 2022 Brandt P, Gerwien F, Wagner L, Krüger T, Ramírez-Zavala B, Mirhakkak MH, Schäuble S, Kniemeyer O, Panagiotou G, Brakhage AA, Morschhäuser J, Vylkova S
• GNP2 Encodes a High-Specificity Proline Permease in Candida albicans.
  mBio 2022 Garbe E, Miramón P, Gerwien F, Ueberschaar N, Hansske-Braun L, Brandt P, Böttcher B, Lorenz M, Vylkova S
• Metabolic modeling predicts specific gut bacteria as key determinants for Candida albicans colonization levels.
  The ISME journal 2020 Mirhakkak MH, Schäuble S, Klassert TE, Brunke S, Brandt P, Loos D, Uribe RV, Senne de Oliveira Lino F, Ni Y, Vylkova S, Slevogt H, Hube B, Weiss GJ, Sommer MOA, Panagiotou G
• Active neutrophil responses counteract Candida albicans burn wound infection of ex vivo human skin explants.
  Scientific reports 2020 von Müller C, Bulman F, Wagner L, Rosenberger D, Marolda A, Kurzai O, Eißmann P, Jacobsen ID, Perner B, Hemmerich P, Vylkova S
• Bloodstream infection due to Enterobacter ludwigii, correlating with massive aggregation on the surface of a central venous catheter.
  Infection 2020 Wagner L, Bloos F, Vylkova S
• Catch the wave: Metabolomic analyses in human pathogenic fungi.
  PLoS pathogens 2020 Brandt P, Garbe E, Vylkova S
• Clinical Candida albicans Vaginal Isolates and a Laboratory Strain Show Divergent Behaviors during Macrophage Interactions.
  mSphere 2020 Gerwien F, Dunker C, Brandt P, Garbe E, Jacobsen ID, Vylkova S
• The Transcription Factor Stp2 Is Important for Candida albicans Biofilm Establishment and Sustainability.
  Frontiers in microbiology 2020 Böttcher B, Hoffmann B, Garbe E, Weise T, Cseresnyés Z, Brandt P, Dietrich S, Driesch D, Figge MT, Vylkova S
• Ahr1 and Tup1 Contribute to the Transcriptional Control of Virulence-Associated Genes in Candida albicans.
  mBio 2020 Ruben S, Garbe E, Mogavero S, Albrecht-Eckardt D, Hellwig D, Häder A, Krüger T, Gerth K, Jacobsen ID, Elshafee O, Brunke S, Hünniger K, Kniemeyer O, Brakhage AA, Morschhäuser J, Hube B, Vylkova S, …
• Environmental pH modulation by pathogenic fungi as a strategy to conquer the host.
  PLoS pathogens 2017 Vylkova S
• Phagosomal Neutralization by the Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans Induces Macrophage Pyroptosis.
  Infection and immunity 2017 Vylkova S, Lorenz MC
• Robust Extracellular pH Modulation by Candida albicans during Growth in Carboxylic Acids.
  mBio 2016 Danhof HA, Vylkova S, Vesely EM, Ford AE, Gonzalez-Garay M, Lorenz MC
• Modulation of phagosomal pH by Candida albicans promotes hyphal morphogenesis and requires Stp2p, a regulator of amino acid transport.
  PLoS pathogens 2014 Vylkova S, Lorenz MC
• The fungal pathogen Candida albicans autoinduces hyphal morphogenesis by raising extracellular pH.
  mBio 2011 Vylkova S, Carman AJ, Danhof HA, Collette JR, Zhou H, Lorenz MC
• Conservation and dispersion of sequence and function in fungal TRK potassium transporters: focus on Candida albicans.
  FEMS yeast research 2009 Miranda M, Bashi E, Vylkova S, Edgerton M, Slayman C, Rivetta A
• Role of acetyl coenzyme A synthesis and breakdown in alternative carbon source utilization in Candida albicans.
  Eukaryotic cell 2008 Carman AJ, Vylkova S, Lorenz MC
• Histatin 5 initiates osmotic stress response in Candida albicans via activation of the Hog1 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway.
  Eukaryotic cell 2007 Vylkova S, Jang WS, Li W, Nayyar N, Edgerton M
• The role of released ATP in killing Candida albicans and other extracellular microbial pathogens by cationic peptides.
  Purinergic signalling 2007 Vylkova S, Sun JN, Edgerton M
• Human beta-defensins kill Candida albicans in an energy-dependent and salt-sensitive manner without causing membrane disruption.
  Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 2006 Vylkova S, Nayyar N, Li W, Edgerton M
• Distinct antifungal mechanisms: beta-defensins require Candida albicans Ssa1 protein, while Trk1p mediates activity of cysteine-free cationic peptides.
  Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 2006 Vylkova S, Li XS, Berner JC, Edgerton M
• The TRK1 potassium transporter is the critical effector for killing of Candida albicans by the cationic protein, Histatin 5.
  The Journal of biological chemistry 2004 Baev D, Rivetta A, Vylkova S, Sun JN, Zeng GF, Slayman CL, Edgerton M
• Calcium blocks fungicidal activity of human salivary histatin 5 through disruption of binding with Candida albicans.
  Journal of dental research 2003 Dong J, Vylkova S, Li XS, Edgerton M
• Killing of Candida albicans by human salivary histatin 5 is modulated, but not determined, by the potassium channel TOK1.
  Infection and immunity 2003 Baev D, Rivetta A, Li XS, Vylkova S, Bashi E, Slayman CL, Edgerton M