Ep. 110: Melanated Fungi - Protecting from Radioactivity & Surviving Extreme Conditions (feat. Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova)

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of speaking with Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova. Dr. Dadachova is a Professor of Pharmacy at the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition and the Fedoruk Centre for Nuclear Innovation Chair in Radiopharmacy. Before joining University of Saskatchewan, she was a Professor of Radiology, Microbiology and Immunology in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, USA, where she was also Sylvia and Robert S. Olnick Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research. She received her PhD in Physical Chemistry from Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia, in 1992, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in radiopharmaceutical chemistry at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization in Sydney, Australia. Dadachova’s laboratory has pioneered the treatment of infectious diseases including fungal and bacterial infections and HIV with radiolabeled antibodies (so called radioimmunotherapy). Her other research interests are radioimmunotherapy of melanoma, blood cancers and osteosarcoma as well as the development of melanin-based radioprotectors for cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, soldiers on the battlefield and astronauts in space.   

TOPICS COVERED:   Research Pathways of Melanin, Melanoma and Fungi Coming Together  Black Fungi in Soil Surrounding Chernobyl  Melanin in Fungi  Basics of Radiation and Types of Radioactive Particles  Fungi in Outer Space  How Fungi Use Melanin to Protect Themselves Against Ionizing Radiation  Fungi Surviving in Antarctica  Melanated Fungi Harvesting Radiation  Radiotropism  Applied Technologies for Radiation Protection from Melanized Fungi  The Power of Eating Melanized Mushrooms  Radioimmunotherapy  Radiopharmaceuticals  Future Research & Applications  EPISODE RESOURCES:    Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova Academic Website: https://pharmacy-nutrition.usask.ca/profiles/kate-dadachova.php#Bio  Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=A6Ud3q0AAAAJ&hl;=en  Cryptococcus neoformans (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptococcus_neoformans  Cryptococcus antarcticus (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptococcus_antarcticus  Auricularia judae (fungis): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricularia_auricula-judae