United Kingdom 2

James Lee Mitchell (18)

City/Region: Newton Abbot, Devon E-mail: jamhan@globalnet.co.uk Hobbies: Hockey, hiking, tennis and running Career: Physician School: Torquay Boys' Grammar School

Characteristics of Azole Drug Resistance in Candida topicalis

James has a long held interest in science, particularly biology and medicine. His project demonstrates that resistance can be trained into Candida tropicalis simply by exposure to the drug. Candida tropicalis is a yeast that can cause disease in humans with poor immune systems. It also shows that the anti-mycotic drug fluconazole gives resistance to other azole drugs, and that resistance could be reversed by the drug Cyclosporin A. He suggests the mechanism for this resistance in his project as well. All these findings have major implications on clinical treatment of major Candida tropicalis infections.