Dee Carter

Dee Carter is Professor of Microbiology in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney. She obtained a BSc (Hons 1) in Microbiology from the University of Otago, New Zealand in 1985, and a PhD from Imperial College, London in 1992. Carter completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Montpellier, France, and UC Berkeley/Roche Molecular Systems, California, USA, before joining the University of Sydney in 1995 where she has held academic positions for over 30 years. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the Australian Society for Microbiology. Carter has received the Australian Society for Microbiology Distinguished Service Award and the Merck Sharpe and Dohme Award for outstanding contributions to Mycology. She serves as an Executive member of the International Mycological Association and as an editor for PeerJ and PLOS ONE.

Carter's research centers on fungal pathogens, with a focus on novel treatment strategies involving synergising agents and products derived from natural sources such as antimicrobial honeys from Australian native bees and honeypot ants. Her interests encompass medically important fungi like Cryptococcus, Aspergillus species, dermatophytes, antifungal agents, lactoferrin, and drug synergies. She leads the Carter Lab investigating fungal evolution, antimicrobial resistance, and applications like fungal degradation of plastics. With 226 publications, her work has garnered over 12,600 citations and an h-index of 61. Key publications include "A photosynthetic alveolate closely related to apicomplexan parasites" (Nature, 2008), "Molecular markers reveal cryptic sex in the human pathogen Coccidioides immitis" (PNAS, 1996), "Phylogeography of the fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum" (Molecular Ecology, 2003), "Climate change and the emergence of fungal pathogens" (PLoS Pathogens, 2021), and recent studies on jarrah honey's inhibition of dermatophyte fungi (Pathogens, 2021) and honeypot ant honey's unique antimicrobial activity (PeerJ, 2023).

Professional Email: dee.carter@sydney.edu.au