Leigh MacMillan Archive — Page 12 of 83

Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, (left), graduate student Catherine Shelton, and their colleagues discovered that beneficial bacteria in the small intestines produce a compound that protects against obesity. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
December 8, 2023

Gut microbiota metabolite protects against obesity: Study

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that beneficial bacteria in the small intestines produce a compound that protects against obesity.

December 6, 2023

Pasteurization reduces bioactive component of breast milk

Pasteurization of breast milk affects the concentration of osteopontin, a bioactive protein with roles in intestinal, immunological and brain development — suggesting that osteopontin supplementation should be considered when donor milk is provided to preterm infants.

November 21, 2023

Commensal gut bacterium protects from severe intestinal infection

The commensal bacterium Turicibacter sanguinis could be used to protect against severe intestinal infections, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

A C. diff bacterium (green) with iron particles in red, shown in a reconstructed electron tomogram from STEM-EDS. (image courtesy of James McBride)
November 15, 2023

Novel C. diff structures are required for infection, offer new therapeutic targets

Vanderbilt research discovers that iron storage “spheres” inside the bacterium C. diff — the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections — are important for infection in an animal model and could offer new targets for antibacterial drugs.

Randika “Randy” Perera, PhD, left, Wenhan Zhu, PhD, Walter Chazin, PhD, Luisella Spiga, PhD, Ryan Fansler and colleagues discovered that beneficial bacteria in the gut impact the competition that occurs between host cells and pathogens for the essential nutrient iron. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
October 27, 2023

Study discovers role for gut bacteria in host-pathogen competition for nutrients

Vanderbilt research shows that commensal gut microbes impact the host-pathogen competition for iron and has implications for therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing pathogens from acquiring essential nutrients.

Alyssa Hasty, PhD, left, Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, and Kamran Idrees, MD, MSCI, are part of a multidisciplinary team that received a 2023 Endeavor Award from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research to study the connection between obesity and cancer. Team members not pictured include Kathryn Wellen, PhD, Liza Makowski, PhD, and Kathryn Beckermann, MD, PhD.
October 24, 2023

Vanderbilt-led team receives 2023 Endeavor Award from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research

A multidisciplinary team of investigators has received a 2023 Endeavor Award from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research to support four closely linked projects exploring the fundamental mechanisms that drive the obesity-cancer connection,