Vanderbilt Institute for Infection Immunology and Inflammation

September 30, 2021

Molecular imaging of C. diff infection

C. difficile — the leading cause of hospital-associated intestinal infections — induces a rapid influx of bile acids into the gut, which could provide a novel target for blocking infection.

By Leigh MacMillan
September 10, 2021

Caught in a web: study reveals that immune cells cooperate to trap and kill bacteria

Vanderbilt researchers have identified a new antibacterial mechanism that could inspire novel strategies for combating staph and other extracellular bacterial pathogens.

By Leigh MacMillan
Artist Anjali Kumari, an undergraduate student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, worked with Vanderbilt PhD student Kelsey Pilewski on this piece that depicts co-infection by two viruses, HIV (blue) and HCV (red), and the evolution of antibodies to combat virus infection.
October 29, 2020

Grant helps expand VI4’s Artist-in-Residence program

An innovative Vanderbilt program that brings together scientists and artists with the shared goal of scientific communication is set to expand with support from a three-year grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

By Leigh MacMillan
September 22, 2020

Rational vaccine design

Understanding immunity generated by smallpox vaccine may hold lessons for COVID-19 vaccine development.

By Leigh MacMillan
September 17, 2020

Probing pathogen antibiotic resistance

Understanding how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics and host stresses could guide the development of more effective antimicrobial therapeutics.

By Leigh MacMillan
July 13, 2020

“Nur” target may aid arthritis treatment

Vanderbilt immunologists have discovered that the protein Nur77 is part of a control mechanism that guards against autoimmunity in natural killer T cells.

By Bill Snyder
July 9, 2020

Recurrent UTIs linked to hidden reservoir

Bacterial invasion of vaginal cells sets up a protective niche and a reservoir for recurrent urinary tract infections, Vanderbilt researchers demonstrated.
By Sarah E. Glass
July 9, 2020

VUMC’s Byndloss recognized for microbiome research

Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, has been selected as a runner-up of the inaugural NOSTER & Science Microbiome Prize.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 24, 2020

Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation holds third annual symposium

The Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4) held its third annual symposium last week as a virtual, on-line event to preserve social distancing during COVID-19.
By Bill Snyder
June 10, 2020

C. diff captures blood cell cofactor to build defensive shield

Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists have identified a C. diff protein system that senses and captures heme (part of hemoglobin) to build a protective shield that fends off threats from our immune system and antibiotics.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 3, 2020

Study explores how staph bacteria can survive in bone

A comprehensive evaluation of the metabolic pathways that support Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) growth during invasive bone infections could offer new targets for treatment.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 14, 2020

The adaptable anthrax bacterium

Vanderbilt researchers discover how anthrax bacterium defends itself against structural damage and resists the toxicity of the antimicrobial drug targocil.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 25, 2020

Looking through MudPIT for protein interactions

The identification of novel protein interactions and sites of modification in proteins involved in mRNA translation adds to understanding of a process that is an important therapeutic target.
By Sanjay Mishra
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