Mr. Alex Lee

Research interests

Metabolomics
Bioactive secondary metabolites
Microbe derived pigments
Natural products
Biotechnology

Background

Master of Science, The University of Auckland
Postgraduate Diploma in Science, The University of Auckland
Bachelor of Science, specializing in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago

Project

The mode of action of Epicoccum derived antimicrobials
The goal of this project is to elucidate the mode of action of epicoccaene; a novel antifungal compound derived from the fungus Epicoccum purpurascens. It is a water-soluble orange-yellow pigmented secondary metabolite that was discovered in the Metabolomics lab at the University of Auckland. Unlike any other antifungal compound that are currently available in the market, it shows a specific antifungal activity against moulds, but not yeasts. Thus, we believe epicoccaene possibly possess a novel mode of action. Elucidating and understanding the mode of action of epicoccaene may result in possible formulation and synthetic designing of novel antifungal drugs for medical and agricultural fields in the future.