Leah E. Cowen
About
Leah Cowen is Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Toronto, where she is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics.
Her laboratory takes an interdisciplinary approach to understand what allows some microbes to exploit the host and cause disease, and to develop new strategies to treat life-threatening infectious disease.
Dr. Cowen has cultivated a network of international excellence through her extensive team of over 70 collaborators, and is advancing knowledge translation as a co-founder of Bright Angel Therapeutics, a company that leverages state-of-the-art technologies for development of novel antifungal therapeutics.
Awards
- Canada Research Chair in Microbial Genomics & Infectious Disease (Tier II, 07-17; Tier I, 17-22)
- Elected to Fellowship of the American Academy of Microbiology, 2018
- NSERC E. W. R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, 2015
- Grand Challenges Canada Star in Global Health, 2013 – 2014
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences, 2007 – 2012
Relevant Publications
L. Whitesell, N. Robbins, D.S. Huang, C.A. McLellan, T. Shekhar-Guturja, E.V. LeBlanc, C.S. Nation, R. Hui, A. Hutchinson, C. Collins, S. Chatterjee, R. Trilles, J.L. Xie, D.J. Krysan, S. Lindquist, J.A. Porco, Jr., U. Tatu, L.E. Brown, J. Pizarro and L.E. Cowen. “Structural Basis for Species-Selective Targeting of Hsp90 in a Pathogenic Fungus.” Nature Communications (2019): 10:402 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-08248-w.
J.L. Xie, L. Qin, Z. Miao, B.T. Grys, J. De La Cruz Diaz, K. Ting, J.R. Krieger, J. Tong, K. Tan, M.D. Leach, T. Ketela, M.F. Moran, D.J. Krysan, C. Boone, B.J. Andrews, A. Selmecki, K.H. Wong, N. Robbins and L.E. Cowen. The Candida albicans Transcription Factor Cas5 Couples Stress Responses, Drug Resistance, and Cell Cycle Regulation. Nature Communications 8 (2017): 499.
Shekhar-Guturja, T., G. M. K. B. Gunaherath, E.M.K. Wijeratne, J.-P. Lambert, A.F. Averette, S.C. Lee, T. Kim, Y.-S. Bahn, F. Tripodi, R. Ammar, K. Döhl, K. Niewola-Staszkowska, L. Schmitt, R.J. Loewith, F.P. Roth, D. Sanglard, D. Andes, C. Nislow, P. Coccetti, A.-C. Gingras, J. Heitman, A.A.L. Gunatilaka and L.E. Cowen. “Dual Action Small Molecule Potentiates Antifungal Efficacy, Blocks the Evolution of Drug Resistance, and Renders Resistant Pathogens Responsive to Therapy via Modulation of Multidrug Efflux and TOR Signaling.” Nature Chemical Biology 12 (2016): 867-75.
O’Meara, T. R.*, A. Veri*, T. Ketela, B. Jiang, T. Roemer and L.E. Cowen. “Global Analysis of Fungal Morphology Exposes Mechanisms of Host Cell Escape.” Nature Communications 6 (2015): 6741.
Cowen, L. E. and S. Lindquist. “Hsp90 Potentiates the Rapid Evolution of New Traits: Drug Resistance in Diverse Fungi.” Science 309 (2005): 2185-89.