Our laboratory combines two main interests: gene regulation and microbe-host interactions.

Transcriptional circuits are central to the regulation of most biological processes. The Perez lab is interested in understanding these circuits’ underlying logic and structure, how they effect particular traits of interest and how they change over evolutionary timescales. 

Our main experimental organism to address these questions is Candida albicans, the most prominent yeast species residing in healthy humans and also a major cause of serious fungal infections. We seek to gain insights into the biology of this unicellular eukaryotic organism through the study of its transcriptional regulatory circuitry.

Our lab was established in 2014. The University of Wuerzburg and the University Hospital Wuerzburg in Germany were the home of our lab until 2020. We then relocated to The University of Texas McGovern Medical School in Houston, our current home. 

A diverse group of highly-motivated individuals has been part of our lab since its beginnings and we are always looking for creative, hard-working, promising young scientists to join our lab!