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