NIAID

A high-fat diet disrupts the biology of the gut’s inner lining and its microbial communities — and promotes the production of a metabolite that may contribute to heart disease, according to a study published Aug. 13 in the journal Science.

Vanderbilt researchers find that heterosexually active Black males are the least likely to establish HIV care within one month of diagnosis and suggest that targeted interventions focus on this population.

Anthony Fauci, MD, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden’s administration and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recently met virtually with students of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program to answer questions about lessons learned during the pandemic and to share career advice.

A protein implicated in neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis prevents the activation of an innate immune response that leads to cell death, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

An FDA-approved medication enhances the function of T regulatory cells (Treg), a class of immune cells that restrains the immune response, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered.

In HIV-positive individuals with diabetes, immune cells in fat are more proinflammatory and cytotoxic and may represent a therapeutic target for diabetes.

HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, exploits inositol phosphates in T cells to aid its own assembly and maturation — suggesting that targeting inositol phosphate binding could inhibit HIV-1 replication.