(Vienna, 16 September 2026) Trinh Phan-Canh, a PhD graduate of the Medical University of Vienna, has been awarded the Life Sciences PhD Award Austria 2026 in the ‘Applied Research’ category. The award recognises his thesis ‘Antifungal Multidrug Resistance and Virulence of Candida auris’, which he completed as part of his PhD research at MedUni Vienna. The prize, awarded by the Austrian Society for Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology (ÖGMBT), recognises outstanding doctoral theses in the fields of life sciences and biotechnology. The award ceremony took place during the ÖGMBT Annual Conference.
Phan-Canh’s research focuses on the multidrug-resistant fungus Candida auris, which is regarded worldwide as a significant health risk and can spread rapidly, particularly in clinical settings. A key part of his PhD research was a study published in *Nature Microbiology* in 2026. In it, the research team demonstrated how *Candida auris* utilises a CO₂-based metabolic strategy to survive on the skin and better tolerate the effects of antifungal therapies.
For this publication, ‘Candida auris skin tropism and antifungal resistance are mediated by carbonic anhydrase Nce103’, Phan-Canh has now also been awarded the ÖGMM Publication Award 2026 by the Austrian Society for Medical Mycology. He had already received the Austrian Microbiology Prize 2026 in May for the same research work.
Phan-Canh completed his PhD in Molecular Genetics & Immunology in 2025 at MedUni Vienna. He is now working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre of Harvard Medical School in the USA.