Oliver Kurzai

National Reference Center for Invasive Fungal Infections · Head Fungal Septomics · Head +49 931 31-46161 oliver.kurzai@uni-wuerzburg.de

Curriculum vitae

Main Research Areas

Infection biology of human pathogenic fungi (especially Candida albicans)
Infection biology of Neisseria meningitidis

Professional Career

Since 2017	Chair of Medical Microbiology and Mycology, Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, Julius Maximilians University Würzburg and head of the research group Fungal Septomics at Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans-Knöll-Institute Jena
2009-2016	Professor (W2) for Fungal Septomics, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
2008	Habilitation in medical microbiology, University Würzburg
2006	Medical specialist in microbiology, virology and infection epidemiology (Bayerische Landesärztekammer)
2003	Head of a working group, Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie, University Würzburg
2001-2002	Doctor in practical training (AiP), Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie, University Würzburg
2002	Dr. med., “summa cum laude” University Würzburg
2001	Staatsexamen (state examination) in human medicine, University Würzburg

Awards · Appointments · Scientific Activities

Since 2014	Head of the Nationales Referenzzentrums für invasive Pilzinfektionen (NRZMyk)
Since 2013	Board member of the Integriertes Forschungs- und Behandlungszentrum “Center for Sepsis Control and Care” (CSCC) at the University Hospital Jena
Since 2012	Scientific Manager of the consortium “InfectControl 2020 – New Antiinfection Strategies – Science • Society • Economy” within the BMBF-Programme “Zwanzig 20 – Partnership for Innovation” (Head: Prof. A. Brakhage)
Since 2012	Editor-in-chief, Medical Mycology Case Reports, member (ex officio) of the executive board of the International Society for Human & Animal Mycology (ISHAM)
Since 2011	Elected note taker at the Deutschsprachige Mykologische Gesellschaft DMykG
2015-2016	Speaker of the ZIK Septomics
2011-2013	Editor, Journal of Basic Microbiology
2009	Hans-Rieth-poster prize from the Deutschsprachige Mykologische Gesellschaft (DMykG)
2008	Award from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie
2003	Science award from the Unterfränkische Gedenkjahrstiftung
2003	Dissertation award from the medical faculty of the University Würzburg
2002	Becton-Dickinson PhD award from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie

Publications

Alanio A, White PL, Arendrup MC, Fe Talento A, Andersen CT, Johnson E, Lanternier F, Meletiadis J, Aastvad KMT, Cuypers L, Kurzai O, Strauss R, Rautemaa-Richardson R, Chen S, Verweij PE, Alastruey-Izquierdo A (2026) Antifungal resistance surveillance: Insights from national mycology reference centers and expert mycology laboratories. Open Forum Infect Dis 13(1), ofaf747.

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Pikoulas A, Morianos I, Nidris V, Hamdy R, Intze E, López-López Á, Moran-Garrido M, Muthu V, Halabalaki M, Papaioanou V, Papadovasilaki M, Kyrmizi I, Gu Y, Camunas-Alberca S, Aerts R, Mercier T, Vanbiervliet Y, Cho SY, Spallone A, Jiang Y, Samonakis D, Kastritis E, Lax C, Tzardi M, Eliopoulos A, Georgila K, Carvalho A, Kurzai O, Rudramurthy SM, Elie C, Lanternier F, Petratos K, Garre V, Drakos E, Maertens J, Bruno VM, Kontoyiannis DP, Barbas C, Soliman SSM, Ibrahim AS, Chamilos G (2026) Albumin orchestrates a natural host defence mechanism against mucormycosis. Nature 649(8097), 693-702.

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Shehata A^*, Schäuble S^*, Martin R, Aldejohann AM, Panagiotou G, Kurzai O, Hünniger-Ast K (2026) Caspofungin enhances antifungal immunity in human blood through transcriptional reprogramming. microLife [Accepted]

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Aldejohann AM, Thielemann N, Zurita AM, Müller C, Gräfenhan T, Kriz R, Lagler H, Behr IS, Reus N, Schöninger A, Walther G, Mazan LM, Wilhelm H, Willinger B, Cuomo CA, Kurzai O, Martin R (2025) Ergosterol-depleted clinical isolates of Nakaseomyces glabratus can develop multi-drug resistance without apparent fitness and virulence defects. bioRxiv , 2025.08.28.672802.

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Aldejohann AM, Uribe Munoz A, Füller MA, Walther G, Kurzai O, Schaumburg F, Sträter R, Potratz J, Sandkötter J, Ebrahimi-Fakhari D, Stracke CP, Beck L, Thomas C, Groll AH (2025) Catastrophic cerebral infarctions in a pediatric patient with acute lymphoblastic Leukemia due to Mucorales infection. J Fungi (Basel) 11(9), 618.

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Aldejohann AM, Uribe Munoz A, Füller MA, Walther G, Kurzai O, Schaumburg F, Sträter R, Potratz J, Sandkötter J, Ebrahimi-Fakhari D, Stracke CP, Beck L, Thomas C, Groll AH (2025) Correction: Aldejohann et al. Catastrophic cerebral infarctions in a pediatric patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia due to Mucorales infection. J. Fungi 2025, 11, 618. J Fungi (Basel) 11(10), 744.

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Aldejohann LH, Steinmann J, Ruegamer T, Martin R, Thielemann N, Walther G, Kurzai O, Aldejohann AM (2025) Culture-positive COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) in Germany. Int J Med Microbiol 321, 151676.

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Arendrup MC, Guinea J, Arikan-Akdagli S, Meijer EFJ, Meis JF, Buil JB, Dannaoui E, Giske CG, Lyskova P, Meletiadis J (2025) How to interpret MICs of amphotericin B, echinocandins and flucytosine against Candida auris (Candidozyma auris) according to the newly established European Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) breakpoints. Clin Microbiol Infect 32(1), 56-61. (Review)

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Brassington P, Klefisch FR, Graf B, Pfüller R, Kurzai O, Walther G, Barber AE (2025) Genomic reconstruction of an azole-resistant Candida parapsilosis outbreak and the creation of a multilocus sequence typing scheme: a retrospective observational and genomic epidemiology study. Lancet Microbe 6(1), 100949.

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Cornely OA, Sprute R, Bassetti M, Chen SC, Groll AH, Kurzai O, Lass-Flörl C, Ostrosky-Zeichner L, Rautemaa-Richardson R, Revathi G, Santolaya ME, White PL, Alastruey-Izquierdo A, Arendrup MC, Baddley J, Barac A, Ben-Ami R, Brink AJ, Grothe JH, Guinea J, Hagen F, Hochhegger B, Hoenigl M, Husain S, Jabeen K, Jensen HE, Kanj SS, Koehler P, Lehrnbecher T, Lewis RE, Meis JF, Nguyen MH, Pana ZD, Rath PM, Reinhold I, Seidel D, Takazono T, Vinh DC, Zhang SX, Afeltra J, Al-Hatmi AMS, Arastehfar A, Arikan-Akdagli S, Bongomin F, Carlesse F, Chayakulkeeree M, Chai LYA, Chamani-Tabriz L, Chiller T, Chowdhary A, Clancy CJ, Colombo AL, Cortegiani A, Corzo Leon DE, Drgona L, Dudakova A, Farooqi J, Gago S, Ilkit M, Jenks JD, Klimko N, Krause R, Kumar A, Lagrou K, Lionakis MS, Lmimouni BE, Mansour MK, Meletiadis J, Mellinghoff SC, Mer M, Mikulska M, Montravers P, Neoh CF, Ozenci V, Pagano L, Pappas P, Patterson TF, Puerta-Alcalde P, Rahimli L, Rahn S, Roilides E, Rotstein C, Ruegamer T, Sabino R, Salmanton-García J, Schwartz IS, Segal E, Sidharthan N, Singhal T, Sinko J, Soman R, Spec A, Steinmann J, Stemler J, Taj-Aldeen SJ, Talento AF, Thompson GR, Toebben C, Villanueva-Lozano H, Wahyuningsih R, Weinbergerová B, Wiederhold N, Willinger B, Woo PCY, Zhu LP (2025) Global guideline for the diagnosis and management of candidiasis: an initiative of the ECMM in cooperation with ISHAM and ASM. Lancet Infect Dis 25(5), e280-e293. (Review)

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