antibiotic

April 24, 2023

Novel drugs have potential for treating tuberculosis

Drug-resistant tuberculosis is on the rise, and novel antibacterial drugs called SPTs have potential for treating the deadly lung infection.

By Leigh MacMillan
Eric Skaar, PhD, MPH, Hualiang Pi, PhD, and colleagues are studying a regulatory factor in the bacterium that causes the disease anthrax.
April 7, 2022

Study advances understanding of bacterial bioterrorism agent

Vanderbilt researchers have identified a critical regulatory factor in the bacterium that causes the disease anthrax and has been used as a biological weapon.

By Leigh MacMillan
April 25, 2019

A new antibiotic’s mechanism of action

Vanderbilt investigators have characterized how a new first-in-class antibacterial drug works, which will guide the development of additional compounds that overcome antibacterial resistance.

By Leigh MacMillan
bacteria microbiome
April 11, 2019

How bugs overcome host defenses

Vanderbilt researchers led by Eric Skaar are probing the mechanisms bacteria use when faced with nutrient starvation — a host defense strategy called “nutritional immunity.”

By Leigh MacMillan
January 31, 2019

In utero antibiotics and obesity risk

Maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy was not associated with childhood obesity at age 5, according a national study led by a Vanderbilt pediatrician.

By Leigh MacMillan
zinc pill on spoon over white background
September 26, 2016

Study shows excess dietary zinc worsens C. diff infection

Too much dietary zinc increases susceptibility to infection by Clostridium difficile — “C. diff” — the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections.

By Leigh MacMillan
August 7, 2015

Bridging the antibiotic gap

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered how certain molecules with antibiotic properties are synthesized, findings that could lead to new drugs that overcome the increased antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
By Sanjay Mishra and Bill Snyder
February 25, 2015

Antibiotics with anticancer potential

A series of experimental antibiotics may be a good starting point for developing new anticancer drugs.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 30, 2013

Preserving antibiotic arsenal for TB

Clinicians should be cautious about prescribing newer fluoroquinolone antibiotics to patients with TB risk factors; doing so may jeopardize the use of these agents against TB.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 20, 2013

Studies outline new model for staph bone infections

Osteomyelitis, a debilitating bone infection most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) bacteria, is particularly challenging to treat.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 14, 2013

Bacterial resistance breaks bridges

Understanding how bacteria become resistant to quinolone antibiotics could guide strategies for developing new antibacterial drugs.
By Leigh MacMillan
January 17, 2013

Zinc: a new antibiotic target?

It may be possible to fight hospital-acquired pathogens like Acinetobacter baumannii by targeting the bacterium’s need for the nutrient metal zinc.
By Leigh MacMillan