Charles Specht PhD

Charlie Specht received his Ph.D. from the University of Vermont, where he studied the mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA of the fungus Schizophyllum commune, while also developing techniques to isolate and characterize its mating-type genes. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focusing on fungal chitin synthases, chitinases, and chitin deacetylases. Dr. Specht has worked closely with Dr. Levitz since 2001. Research areas include understanding the synthesis of chitin and chitosan and their role in organizing the cell wall of the pathogenic fungus, Cryptococcus neoformans, and the pre-clinical development of cryptococcal vaccines.