Department of Pathology Microbiology and Immunology

Luc Van Kaer, PhD, left, Luke Postoak and colleagues have identified a protein that is key to the “education” of immature T cells in the thymus.
September 1, 2022

Study identifies key player in T cell “education”

New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output.

By Leigh MacMillan
Alison Benton, SMB, and David Gaston, MD, PhD, discuss pcr data analysis as they prepare to begin in-house monkey pox testing for VUMC-affiliated practices.
August 31, 2022

Monkeypox testing available for eligible VUMC patients

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is now offering in-house monkeypox polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic testing for patients who are eligible.

By Jill Clendening
Research by Christopher Peek, PhD, left, Jim Cassat, MD, PhD, and their colleagues reveals how gut inflammation leads to bone loss.
August 25, 2022

Vanderbilt researchers discover how gut inflammation leads to bone loss

Gastrointestinal inflammation, such as occurs in inflammatory bowel disease, triggers the expansion of a population of “bone-eating” cells, leading to bone loss.

By Leigh MacMillan
Maria Hadjifrangiskou, PhD, Connor Beebout, PhD, and colleagues are studying why the bacterium E. coli is so tenacious.
August 25, 2022

Study describes how E. coli co-opts cells, causes recurrent UTIs

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered why the uropathogenic bacterium E. coli, the leading cause of urinary tract infections, is so tenacious; their findings could lead to new ways to prevent recurrent UTIs.

By Bill Snyder
August 11, 2022

Rise seen in parechovirus cases among children

Doctors at Vanderbilt are seeing an unusually high number of young patients infected with a virus called parechovirus.

By Jessica Pasley
July 28, 2022

C. difficile may contribute to colorectal cancer: study

A Vanderbilt study found that the bacterium Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) may be a previously unrecognized contributor to colorectal cancer.

By Bill Snyder
July 20, 2022

Vanderbilt team tracks cellular and antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccine

In a technical tour de force, a collaborative team of Vanderbilt researchers has characterized the antigen-specific immune response to the Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 RNA vaccine.
By Leigh MacMillan
July 13, 2022

Grad student Shelton selected as Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar

Catherine Shelton has been selected as the 2022 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar.
By Bill Snyder
July 7, 2022

Mathers Foundation award supports study of crosstalk between skeletal, immune systems

Vanderbilt's Jim Cassat, MD, PhD, has received a three-year, $750,000 award from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation to support research exploring the interplay between bone homeostasis and infectious disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 15, 2022

Three Vanderbilt biomedical researchers named 2022 Pew Scholars

Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, and William Wan, PhD, have been named 2022 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences and Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, was selected to join the 2022 class of Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research. 
By Bill Snyder
June 2, 2022

Bacterial battle in 3D

Using imaging mass spectrometry and microscopy, Vanderbilt researchers visualized how staph bacteria modifies lipids in its membrane to evade immune system-mediated killing.
By Bill Snyder
May 17, 2022

Study identifies first cellular “chaperone” for zinc, sheds light on worldwide public health problem of zinc deficiency

A team led by Vanderbilt researchers has described and characterized the first zinc metallochaperone: a protein that puts zinc into other “client” proteins.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 5, 2022

VUMC team discovers how bacterial pathogen survives without water

Vanderbilt researchers are studying a bacterial pathogen that can survive on hospital surfaces — without water — for months, an ability that has helped it become a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections.
By Leigh MacMillan
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