The Academy of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) welcomed Andre Spec, MD, MSCI, assistant professor of medicine, as a Fellow of the ECMM (FECMM). The ECMM Academy was founded in 2016 by Oliver Cornely and Martin Hoenigl to unify Medical mycologists from around the world. Academy Fellows are acknowledged as mycologists with outstanding expertise in medical mycology.
Dr. Spec’s research is in fungal infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients, including those with transplants. His research focuses on Cryptococcus, Histoplasma and Candida. He studies the epidemiology and factors that affect outcomes in patients infected with fungus, both in the United States and globally in resource limited settings of Guatemala. He serves as the Associate Director of our Infectious Disease Clinical Research Unit (ID-CRU) and is actively involved in the Mycoses Study Group (MSG), through which he participates and runs multicenter studies focused on new diagnostic tests and treatments for invasive fungal infections, and is the creator and leader of the Washington University Mycoses Group (a consortium of researchers interested in fungal infections). Dr. Spec also runs the division’s clinic focusing on invasive fungal infections, where he takes care of both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients with fungal infections, which he considers the best and most rewarding part of his job.