VI4

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.

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.

Temperature, newts and a skin-eating fungus

Salamanders are more sensitive to a skin-eating fungus at colder temperatures, pointing to locations of North America where pathogen invasion is most likely.

VUMC postdoctoral scientist named HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow

Valeria Reyes Ruiz, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, has been selected as a 2020 Hanna Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

By Leigh MacMillan

C. Henrique Serezani, PhD, right, and colleagues, from left, Amondrea Blackman, Nathan Klopfenstein and Júlia Miranda Ribeiro Bazzano are studying the early events of the inflammatory response to infection.

December 10, 2020

Study details early events of inflammatory response

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a key molecular player in the early events of the inflammatory response to infection. The findings suggest new therapeutic possibilities for enhancing the inflammatory response to protect against pathogens and for blocking inflammation gone awry in diseases like arthritis and atherosclerosis.