-UOA/HCPF-

The UOA/HCPF was founded in 1995 by its current Director, and it is housed at the School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. It is the only registered national culture collection for primary and opportunistic human and animal yeast and fungal pathogens, their genetic material and metabolites. It currently holds a total of 2462 strains of pathogenic yeasts and 1065 filamentous fungi representing circ. 400 species of ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts and circ. 186 species of filamentous fungi (clinical isolates of mitosporic fungi, Basidiomycetes, Ascomycetes and Zygomycetes). In the publically accessible website the culture collection provides on line search on 773 yeast and fungal strains including 200 reference strains. All publically available strains are polyphasically identified. The Collection also holds highly infectious primary and neurotropic pathogens, as well as primary and opportunistic human pathogens from European countries, India, China, Brazil and Australia.

•    Ex situ preservation of fungal strains for safe and public deposit;

• Two accession modalities (public and restricted);
• Distribution of yeast and fungal cultures for research in diagnostics, biotechnological and  pharmacological applications;
• Distribution of yeast and fungal genetic material and metabolites for biotechnological/pharmacological applications;

•    Isolation and identification (conventional and molecular techniques) of yeasts and fungi from clinical specimens and from substrates relating to public health, safety and welfare (hospitals; public buildings; food, feed and drinks; recreational fresh, sea water and the proximal terrestrial environments, and playgrounds) and from historical monuments (archaeological and Byzantine finds and artefacts);

•    Screening and characterization of fungal cultures for useful  properties;

•    Teaching and training;

•    Consultancy service.

Include: Molecular phylogeny, identification and typing of pathogenic fungi, global fungal epidemiology, and fungal pathogenesis, barcoding of clinical fungi, antifungal susceptibility testing and isolation of bioactive fungal metabolites, development of media for optimum yeast and fungal culture conditions and transport.

In preparation for ISO 9001 & ISO/IEC 17025