Bridget Barker

The Barker Lab is striving to improve our knowledge of the ecological niche of Coccidioides by improving our ability to predict the presence of Cocci in soil. Being exposed to Cocci often leads to an asymptomatic infection, but can lead to the development of asymptomatic benign nodules, sometimes misdiagnosed as lung cancer. If the acute infection does not resolve, it can progress to chronic and/or disseminated disease, and the specific factors influencing this outcome are unknown.