Cocci Study Group discusses latest advances in Valley fever research in Phoenix

The Department of Medicine’s John N. Galgiani, MD, and Fariba Donovan, MD, PhD, professor and associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, were among several University of Arizona faculty presenting at the 69th Annual Coccidioidomycosis Study Group Meeting, which was hosted at Arizona State University’s Health Futures Center, April 4-5, on the Mayo Clinic Campus in Phoenix.

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Dr. Galgiani is the founding director of the U of A Valley Fever Center for Excellence, which is part of the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson, and Dr. Donovan is a physician-scientist at the center. The Cocci Study Group was created in San Francisco nearly 70 years ago to oversee Valley fever-related conferences, annual meetings and research studies.

“The Coccidioidomycosis Study Group has been meeting every year since 1956. It’s grown from a small circle of friends to a meeting that attracts attendees from across the country and even internationally, both in person and online. It’s my favorite meeting. Especially exciting is to see how many new faces are now interested in studying Valley fever. That is very encouraging for the future,” Dr. Galgiani said.

Neil Ampel, MD, a U of A professor emeritus in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Cocci Study Group past president, served as co-moderator on a Day One Scientific Section for Clinical Advances, in which a paper was presented with Dr. Galgiani as co-author, “Pediatric Coccidioidomycosis in an Integrated Managed Care System.” Dr. Ampel was co-author on another paper presented in this session on “Comparing Diagnostic Values of Fungal Flip-Flop Sign Versus Serology in FDG Avid Pulmonary Nodules in Coccidoides – Endemic Regions.” A third paper in this section, “Developing Flow Cytometry-based Assay to Diagnose and Monitor Valley Fever Cellular Responses,” included Kenneth Knox, MD, a Pulmonary Division past chief and College of Medicine – Phoenix vice dean for academic and faculty affairs, as co-author.

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Also on Day One, the Valley Fever Center’s Lisa Shubitz, DVM, presented a paper on “B Cell Depletion Damages Granuloma Formation in a Mouse Model of Coccidioidomycosis” (with Dr. Galgiani, the Valley Fever Center’s Christine Butkiewicz, DVM, MPH, and internal medicine resident Johnny Minh Trinh, MD, as co-authors) at the Scientific Session on Immunology.

On Day Two, Dr. Galgiani was co-author on a paper presented in the Scientific Section on Molecular Biology on “Expanding the Known Genomic Diversity of Coccidioides posadasii through Whole Genome Sequencing and Comparative Genomics.”

Drs. Butkiewicz and Shubitz also presented on “Owner Economic Burden of Canine Coccidioidomycosis in Endemic States,” during the Scientific Section on Epidemiology. A few other papers included co-authors from the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

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The meeting included 40 presentations and 65 poster presenters, along with a Symposium Panel discussion moderated by Dr. Donovan on “Cocci Risks in the Immunomodulators Era,” with Sharon Chen, PhD, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Mircrobiology Lab Services director at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia, and editor of the journal Medical Mycology. Drs. Ampel and Galgiani also served on the panel.

Duke Global Health Institute’s Thuy Le, PhD, DPhil, gave the keynote address on “Insights from Talaromycosis that may be Inferred for Coccidioidomycosis.” Also known as penicilliosis, talaromycosis is a serious fungal infection in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, particularly Southeast Asia. It primarily affects people with weakened immune systems, especially those living with HIV/AIDS, but can also occur in other immunocompromised people.

The next Cocci Study Group Meeting, Aug. 6-9, 2026, at the University of California, Davis, also serves as its 8th International Meeting.