James Kronstad is a microbiologist and immunologist who is interested in several aspects of fungal biology including pathogenesis, morphogenesis and recognition events that occur during mating and upon infection of the host. His current research efforts focus on fungi that threaten human health either as plant pathogens that challenge crop production or as the direct agents of infectious diseases. His research group investigates nutrient sensing mechanisms that support proliferation of the maize pathogen Ustilago maydis in host tissue and works to identify mechanisms of pathogenesis for the AIDS-associated pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.