Meet Vacation Studentships recipient: Mia Hadjiloucas
Posted on October 30, 2025 by Microbiology Society
The Society offers a limited number of Vacation Studentships to enable undergraduates to work on microbiological research projects during their summer vacation. The scheme also gives early- and mid-career scientists the opportunity to gain supervision experience.
Meet the Vacation Studentships recipients and learn more about their journey.
What is your name and institution?
Euphemia (Mia) Hadjiloucas, Imperial College London.
Please can you tell us why you applied for the Harry Smith Vacation studentship?
I applied because I wanted to get a genuine idea for what scientific research in a lab was really like. Although, I had undergraduate lab experience as part of my degree, I could tell that there was so much more lab work than what we could achieve in our allotted 3-hour slots. Having completed the placement, I can attest that this is very true! The independence needed to successfully navigate a laboratory environment, as well as, self-discipline and resilience, are traits that you can only test in yourself through opportunities like this Vacation studentship.
How did you feel when you found out your application was successful?
I was very pleased and slightly surprised as I knew it was quite competitive! It was my first time (as I can imagine is the case with most applicants) writing a formal proposal for funding. I really enjoyed making my application, particularly scavenging through the research and finding a gap that seemed achievable to investigate in the 6-week time frame available for the Vacationship. I was also lucky enough to find a supervisor who is leading in her field of microbiology, and eager to train and impart knowledge to the next generation of microbiologists!
How would you go-about explaining your research to someone who may not understand science?
When people are very sick and their immune system is weak (what we call immunocompromised), they are much more vulnerable to infections. This includes patients who have cystic fibrosis or cancer, among other conditions. One particularly dangerous infection is caused by a fungus that grows in the lungs, leading to a condition called invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Immunocompromised people are highly susceptible to Aspergillus infection, having a striking death rate of 85.2% (Denning, 2024). Patients with pulmonary aspergillosis are almost always treated with antifungal drugs, but one area that is understudied is how the presence of a virus inside the fungus itself (called a mycovirus) affects the way the fungus responds to these antifungal treatments. My project looks at exactly this: does having a virus inside the fungus make it more or less sensitive to antifungal drugs?
In addition to this, I’m testing how different types of antifungal drugs work together. Each drug targets the fungus in a different way, for example, one may block the building of bonds in the fungal cell wall, while another may stop the production of chitin (another component of the cell wall). I want to see whether combining them makes their treatment more effective, and at what doses. To measure this, we use a calculation called the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI). In simple terms, it’s just a number that tells us whether two drugs work better together (in synergy), cancel each other out (in antagonism), or add up with an extra benefit (additive effect). Therefore, my research is about understanding whether viruses inside fungi change how the fungus responds to treatment, and whether combining antifungal drugs could be a better way to treat vulnerable patients.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered one of the biggest threats to global health. Can you explain the specific risks associated with antifungal resistance?
Antifungal resistance is an increasingly urgent and underappreciated aspect of AMR, with Aspergillus fumigatus proving to be at the forefront of this due to its clinical relevance. This fungus is the leading cause of IPA, a life-threatening infection in immunocompromised patients (Fisher et al., 2020). Usually, to treat these patients, a group of antifungal drugs classed as azoles are given as a first-line of treatment. Yet, fungal resistance is undermining their efficacy (Berger et al., 2017). Alarmingly, mortality in resistant cases has been shown to exceed 80%, highlighting the devastating impact when our limited antifungal arsenal fails (Verwij et al., 2020).
Resistance in A. fumigatus has risen through two main routes: (1) in patients during long-term azole therapy and (2) more broadly in the environment due to widespread agricultural use of a fungicide called demethylation inhibitor (DMI) which share structural similarity with medical azoles. Overuse and misuse of antifungal drugs have encouraged A. fumigatus resistance against azoles. Specifically, the fungus has undergone a characteristic mutation in cyp51A: a gene which encodes a key enzyme involved in cell wall biosynthesis. Azoles, that would originally target this pathway, can no longer, as a result of this mutation (Verwij et al., 2020). Crucially, these resistant strains are circulating globally and can infect patients who have had no prior antifungal exposure (Fisher et al., 2022). Therefore, combinatorial therapies offer a way to combat this. Clinical and experimental evidence shows that combining azoles with other drugs like echinocandins or liposomal amphotericin B improves survival even against more resistant fungal strains. Guidelines already recommend such strategies in regions with high resistance rates (Fisher et al., 2022).
Still, the implications of antifungal resistance extend beyond Aspergillosis. Antifungals are essential in modern medicine, enabling safer cancer care and transplantation (Verwij et al., 2020). Despite this, there are only very few classes of antifungals available for clinical use, meaning preserving their efficacy is crucial. Therefore, studying antifungal resistance, especially in A. fumigatus, is essential not only to protect vulnerable patients but also to help us protect the foundations of medicine against AMR.
What have you learnt from your experience?
I’ve learnt an incredible amount, both in terms of technical skills and personal growth. On the practical side, I’ve gained essential lab skills and the confidence to work independently and proactively, from preparing media and running assays to analysing (noisy) data! I’ve also learned the importance of taking initiative, asking questions, troubleshooting and finding creative solutions when experiments don't go as planned. Beyond skills, this experience has confirmed to me that I want to pursue a career in research. The project reignited my appreciation for the marvel that is microbiology and reminded me that the more you discover, the more questions are uncovered. Perhaps most importantly, I learned how fulfilling it is to contribute to research that has direct medical relevance. Working on fungal pathogens and drug resistance has shown me the value of applying fundamental molecular biology techniques to current global challenges, such as AMR.
How do you think this vacation will help your career progression?
It has already helped me secure a year in research at the University of Valencia where I will be continuing in the same field of antimicrobial resistance. It has taught me the importance of persevering and also in bringing positivity to a laboratory environment, working alongside other driven researchers. Because more often than not, things won’t go as planned and you quite simply cannot get disheartened. In the right environment, where you can ask questions and people are willing to support you (something I am very grateful I had from my experience with this Vacation studentship), you can learn so much.
Why is support such as this grant provided by the Microbiology Society so important?
The funding I received has helped me immensely. The skills I have learned make me feel that contributing to research in the field of biology is tangible. The accelerated learning achieved by experiences such as these is something that can only be appreciated once you have been given the chance to explore it.
References:
Denning, D.W. (2024) Global incidence and mortality of severe fungal disease. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 24 (7), e428–e438. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00692-8.
Fisher, M.C., Alastruey-Izquierdo, A., Berman, J., Bicanic, T., Bignell, E.M., et al. (2022) Tackling the emerging threat of antifungal resistance to human health. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 20 (9), 557–571. doi:10.1038/s41579-022-00720-1.
Verweij, P.E., Lucas, J.A., Arendrup, M.C., Bowyer, P., Brinkmann, A.J.F., et al. (2020) The one health problem of azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus: current insights and future research agenda. Fungal Biology Reviews. 34 (4), 202–214. doi:10.1016/j.fbr.2020.10.003.
Publishing with us generates the money to provide Vacation Studentship grants, which support Early Career Microbiologist like Euphemia.