Anita Shukla, an Indian American professor at the Brown University School of Engineering, has won a 2026 Division of Research Seed Program award for her project to explore new strategies for life threatening fungal infections.
Fungal infections caused by Candida albicans remain a major and growing threat to human health, driven by high mortality rates, limited therapeutic options, and rising antifungal resistance.
Existing antifungal drugs primarily target fungal growth, yet disease severity is largely governed by fungal virulence mechanisms. The transition to invasive hyphal forms and secretion of the peptide toxin, candidalysin, are among the key virulence mechanisms of C. albicans, and are not a target for existing antifungal therapies.
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Titled “Nanoengineered Platforms for Next-Generation Antifungal Therapeutics,” Shukla’s project proposes a paradigm shift in antifungal treatment by developing liposomal nanoparticle treatments that target these C. albicans virulence mechanisms.
The two-phase project will position Brown as a leader in virulence-targeted antimicrobial strategies and generate foundational data for competitive federal center-level funding, according to a university release.
Shukla is Elaine I. Savage Professor of Engineering at Brown University. Her research involves the development of nano- to macroscale biomaterials for the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections.
Shukla’s honors include selection as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and a National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Scholar.
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She is the recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, an Office of Naval Research Director of Research Early Career Grant, and a Brown University Early Career Research Achievement Award and Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Prior to joining Brown in 2013, Shukla was a National Institutes of Health Ruth Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University.
She received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2011 as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Shukla also received an MS in Chemical Engineering Practice from MIT. She received her BS at Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 with majors in chemical engineering and biomedical engineering.
The 2026 Division of Research Seed Program, the university’s flagship support for transformative ideas, funded three distinct tracks supporting research resiliency, the development of bold ideas for the future, and the traditional seed funding opportunity.