Two highly regarded Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) infectious disease clinicians were recognized with service awards from prominent organizations during IDWeek in San Diego, California, Oct. 4-8.

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 research from Vanderbilt University eavesdrops on gene expression in human immune system cells before and after vaccination against bird flu.

Relying on a core team of physicians and pharmacists, the Vanderbilt Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (VASP) is seeking to ensure optimum use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

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.

Too much dietary zinc increases susceptibility to infection by Clostridium difficile — “C. diff” — the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections.