NIAID Archive

Maria Hadjifrangiskou, PhD, Connor Beebout, PhD, and colleagues are studying why the bacterium E. coli is so tenacious.
August 25, 2022

Study describes how E. coli co-opts cells, causes recurrent UTIs

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered why the uropathogenic bacterium E. coli, the leading cause of urinary tract infections, is so tenacious; their findings could lead to new ways to prevent recurrent UTIs.

By Bill Snyder
A clinical trial supports approval of a new medication to treat moderate-to-severe asthma in children.
July 21, 2022

Study explores role RSV plays in later asthma development

A Vanderbilt clinical project will follow 1,950 Middle Tennessee children to determine how genes and the environment interact with RSV infection during the first year of life and contribute to asthma development

By Leah Mann
June 2, 2022

Bacterial battle in 3D

Using imaging mass spectrometry and microscopy, Vanderbilt researchers visualized how staph bacteria modifies lipids in its membrane to evade immune system-mediated killing.

By Bill Snyder
Andy Weiss, PhD, Caitlin Murdoch, PhD, and colleagues have characterized the first zinc metallochaperone: a protein that puts zinc into other “client” proteins.
May 17, 2022

Study identifies first cellular “chaperone” for zinc, sheds light on worldwide public health problem of zinc deficiency

A team led by Vanderbilt researchers has described and characterized the first zinc metallochaperone: a protein that puts zinc into other “client” proteins.

By Leigh MacMillan
Erin Green, PhD, Eric Skaar, PhD, MPH, and colleagues are studying how a certain bacterial pathogen can survive on hospital surfaces for months with no water.
May 5, 2022

VUMC team discovers how bacterial pathogen survives without water

Vanderbilt researchers are studying a bacterial pathogen that can survive on hospital surfaces — without water — for months, an ability that has helped it become a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections.

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