The Fungal Threat > Support our work

Medical Mycology (the study of fungi that cause disease) is one of the most neglected fields in medical practice, and yet fungi kill over 2 million people every year, mostly in low income countries.

One of the main barriers to the prevention of deaths from fungal infections is the lack of clinical and research capacity in medical mycology and the limited opportunities for talented scientists and doctors in these low income countries to study and understand medical mycology. We want to change this.

Please help us to train a new generation of scientists and doctors to tackle these infections and to find new treatments that can finally defeat these life-threatening diseases.

To make a donation or discuss other options to be part of our group of supporters please contact us at mrccmm@exeter.ac.uk.

How your support could help us to change the story:

Training programmes

We offer training posts for researchers, clinicians and students at several levels. These individuals represent the future of medical mycology. By providing world leading training through bespoke courses, we can increase the capacity needed to keep tackling these infections. Without these people, we cannot move the field forward, which will increase the burden of fungal diseases and lead to more deaths.

It is especially important for us to increase capacity in medical mycology in lower and middle income countries (LMICs). Therefore, we hope to offer more opportunities to scientists and clinicians from LMICs to come to Exeter to train on our laboratories, or to study remotely by undertaking our online MSc, PG Dip and PG Cert training programmes.

Donations allow us to provide more opportunities for these trainees from LMICs, especially by helping to bring down their costs relating to programme fees, travel and subsistence costs (photo on the right: 4th Lecture and Practical Course in Medical Mycology at CMM AFRICA Unit, December 2025).

For more information on our training programmes, see our Education and careers page.

UCT_Medical Mycology Workshop_December 2025

Our Research

Our researchers are passionate about fighting fungal diseases and helping those affected live longer, healthier lives, whether they are based in the lab or working directly with these patients. Our research covers a wide variety of themes, which together can help us to better understand and treat fungal diseases. Our work leads to new drugs and therapies, which are vital to patients.

Donations help fund a 3 to 6-month research project at the MRC CMM Laboratories for overseas students, lab practitioners or clinicians as part of our portfolio of research training activities (Research and training visits | MRC Centre for Medical Mycology | University of Exeter).

For more information on our research themes, check out our research page.

Global Outreach

The major burden of serious invasive fungal infection is borne by low- and middle-income countries. The creation of dedicated research units in the worst impacted regions is a critical tool in the effort to tackle devastating fungal diseases worldwide.

At the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology we are addressing overseas need by establishing specialist Medical Mycology units in key locations across the globe. The specialist units will work closely with the UK based Centre, and are to be located in countries where they can have an impact across large regions. This will allow training and research to happen where the impact of fungal disease is the highest, and provide local training for scientists and doctors without having to travel.

In 2017 we opened the first of these global Centres with the AFRICA CMM Medical Mycology Unit at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, led by Prof Claire Hoving (see video on the right).

Subsequently, in September 2024 we established the CMM LATAM Unit in Sao Paulo, Brazil (LATAM Unit website), a research and training hub designed to drive a sustainable, skilled and integrated taskforce to support research, training and public health against endemic mycoses across Latin America.

Moreover also in 2024, the Centre launched the FAILSAFE project. Led by the University of Exeter’s MRC Centre for Medical Mycology and funded by the UK Department of Health’s Global AMR Innovation Fund, the project addresses the growing threat of antifungal resistance being part of a global effort to curb fungal AMR through interdisciplinary research and the development of sustainable, long-term partnerships.

Further plans include to open in 2026/27 the remaining CMM South East ASIA Unit in Bangkok, Thailand.

Donations will contribute to our ability to expand and offer new studentships to get trained within these Units. Establishing and growing these units is key to our vision and to offer possibilities to scientists and clinicians at these locations.

You can learn more about our ambitions and successes on our Global Impact page.

CMM AFRICA

CMM LATAM

Fungal infections cause more than 2 million deaths worldwide each year. Philanthropic donations are vitally important to progressing our research at speed, enabling Exeter’s MRC Centre for Medical Mycology team of leading scientists to drive forward innovation and make advancements to health and patient care. To make a gift, please donate here, or for further information please contact us at mrccmm@exeter.ac.uk.