Paul Rowley

The Saccharomyces killer toxin K62 is a protein of the aerolysin family | mBio Pore-forming toxins are potent biological weapons used across nature, from virulence factors to immune defense proteins. This study identifies K62, a little-known antifungal toxin produced by a wild y...

The Rowley/Ytreberg/Patel labs at UI have led a multidisciplinary study to characterize a new yeast toxin! Published in the ASM's flagship Journal - mBio. Eight undergraduate authors contributed to the study, a great team effort! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... @uidaho.bsky.social

The Saccharomyces killer toxin K62 is a protein of the aerolysin family | mBio Pore-forming toxins are potent biological weapons used across nature, from virulence factors to immune defense proteins. This study identifies K62, a little-known antifungal toxin produced by a wild y...

The latest paper from my lab! Aerolysin toxins in Saccharomyces yeasts (they "seemed" to be yeast-specific - so maybe(?) don't worry!) | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

🎉 Big news! We've been awarded the 2025 @aaas.org Kavli Science Journalism Gold Award for The Leap, our audio documentary that features the scientists behind some of the biggest breakthroughs of our time. sjawards.aaas.org/news/2025-aa... 1/

So proud AGAIN. My undergraduate won the poster prize at an ASM meeting for the second year running. Great job Lily Givens!!! She is looking for a PhD position…

Obituary: Canon Malory Makower Henry Long writes

Sad to announce that one of the co-discoverers of the killer yeast phenotype passed away today - Canon Malory Makower. Not a scientist, but a priest. It feels odd because today my students presented work on the toxin he discovered at an @asm.org meeting. www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

Honored to have been on a panel to discuss what it takes to be a scientist and a human before a screening of the PBS film on the legendary Phil Sharp (Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution). @uidaho.bsky.social

Last week I interviewed with KTVB about my work on killer yeasts and met the charismatic host, Mellisa Paul! Can't wait for it to air on Idaho Today! @ktvb7.bsky.social

Delays, uncertainty plague NSF fellowship for graduate students After an unusual award process this year, applicants for next year are waiting for overdue guidelines

My students are writing as if it is 2024, let’s see if it pays off… www.science.org/content/arti...

With deep sadness, we mourn the passing of Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baltimore (1938–2025), whose discovery of reverse transcriptase and pioneering work in virology, immunology, and cancer biology transformed modern science and inspired generations of researchers.

The Rowley lab has just birthed another PhD! Congratulations, DR. Jack Creagh-Grave. A job well done. Stay tuned in 2025 for two major publications on killer toxins based on his work!

Another successful event delivered at the University of Malaysia.

The Association of Yarrowia lipolytica with Onychomycosis. Onychomycosis, a common fungal nail infection, is typically caused by dermatophytes or Candida species, but rare fungal pathogens can also be involved…

An undergraduate's curiosity led us down an interesting path to document a novel and unexpected association of Yarrowia lipolytica with onychomycosis (a fungal infection of the nail).
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We currently have a call for support that has gone out to European labs, to support FlyBase-UK. We are asking our colleagues from labs in the US and other countries to wait for a similar call to them that will go out in the near future, to support the US sites. We thank you for your patience.

Opinion | The Waste Musk Created

"at a cost of only 0.24 percent of gross national income, we provided humanitarian aid that saved about six lives every minute around the clock"

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/o...

Finally, some relief for my lab - the NSF just provided us with year 4 funding. It is 4 months late, but at least prior awards are being processed. I hope this provides hope for those of you still waiting for your funding renewals.

YouTube video by Mayo Clinic Infant girl with whooping cough

If you have never seen whooping cough, it is upsetting.
For all those people who haven't got the vaccine for their kids, or themselves - protect our youngsters. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3oZ...

‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

Still waiting.... My two main sources of federal funding have yet to be renewed by the NIH and NSF. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Trump officials will screen NIH funding opportunities Staff at biomedical agency worry about political interference in setting priorities

“Having these decisions made by DOGE after months have been spent writing the NOFOs drafts and getting buy-in from [NIH’s institutes and centers] and offices is a huge waste of staff time and resources.”
www.science.org/content/arti...

Amazing that my kids, doing their homework, triggered a memory of a poem from when I was their age. allpoetry.com/Scythe-Song

This is all hypothetical? All academic? lol

What a great day visiting and giving a presentation at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Great questions and great hospitality!

So happy to be brewing - IN MY LAB. Yes, scientific research into killer toxins can be combined with beer! The tragedy is that we are BSL2 - so we can't drink it.

I have always felt that I am freefalling through my career until my current position. Maybe it would have been the same in the UK? But there would never have been a generous startup package to start my lab.

Just to prove to everyone that I am working during my sabbatical:

My path mirrors yours, from the amazing science an opportunities in the US to never returning to the UK, and I wholeheartedly agree with everything you have said.

Abandoned crops, fired scientists: Agricultural research hit by U.S. foreign aid freeze A court ruling may temporarily ease funding problems, but for many projects the long term outlook remains uncertain

USAID is more than just famine relief…. vital crop research that benefits farmers in the US and around the world. www.science.org/content/arti...

Idaho committee advances bill to sever medical school ties Idaho’s medical doctor training program is in jeopardy under a bill on its way to the House floor.

Throwing out the baby with the bathwater? @uidaho.bsky.social
www.boisestatepublicradio.org/politics-gov...

It’s a good day to be a preventable disease

Urge the New Congress: Safeguard Public Media New Congress, new threats to public media. Make your voice heard now!

Show your support for US public media NOW! Local radio and TV stations improve public safety, enhance children’s educational outcomes, and keep our communities informed and connected. Tell your lawmakers to #ProtectPublicMedia funding @MyPublicMedia: bit.ly/3PSVDq1