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.

Jun. 28, 2018—The new factor, an enzyme involved in host-pathogen interactions, may be a viable target for treating staph infections.

A new integrated imaging approach makes it possible to probe the molecules involved in invasive infections and can be broadly applied to any health or disease state.

Too much dietary manganese — an essential trace mineral found in leafy green vegetables, fruits and nuts — promotes infection of the heart by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”).

On July 24 Vanderbilt scientist Eric Skaar, Ph.D., MPH, summarized his group’s latest paper in a tweet: “If S. aureus is going to drink our blood like a vampire, let's kill it with sunlight.”

New multicenter research that includes Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) investigators, could change treatment approaches to simple skin abscesses, infections often caused by Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus — two pathogens that frequently co-infect the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis — appear to cooperate with each other, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. When pseudomonas is starved for metal by the host, it shuts down the production of factors that would normally kill staph, promoting a co-infection.