Eric Skaar Archives
Novel C. diff structures are required for infection, offer new therapeutic targets
Nov. 15, 2023—Vanderbilt research discovers that iron storage “spheres” inside the bacterium C. diff — the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections — are important for infection in an animal model and could offer new targets for antibacterial drugs.
VUMC postdoctoral researcher selected as HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow
Sep. 21, 2023—Vanderbilt postdoctoral researcher Martin Douglass, PhD, has been named a 2023 Hanna Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
NIH grant launches C. diff vaccine research initiative
Mar. 30, 2023—Vanderbilt has received an NIH grant to launch the Vanderbilt Antibody and Antigen Discovery for Clostridioides difficile Vaccines, or VANDy-CdV.
Terker selected as VUMC Discovery Scholar in Health and Medicine
Oct. 27, 2022— by Bill Snyder Andrew Terker, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been selected as the 2022 VUMC Discovery Scholar in Health and Medicine. The Discovery Scholars program was launched in 2020 with funding from the Brock Family Directorship in Career Development...
VUMC lands grant to build top-line biosafety facility
Sep. 29, 2022—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is set to construct a state-of-the-art BioSafety Level 3 (BSL3) facility for research involving the COVID-19 virus, anthrax and other dangerous microorganisms.
MEGAMicrobe event shows children that science can be fun
Sep. 22, 2022—More than 100 children who attended the “MEGAMicrobe Express” community science fair on Sept. 17 at the Warner Elementary Arts Magnet School in East Nashville.
Bacterial battle in 3D
Jun. 2, 2022—Using imaging mass spectrometry and microscopy, Vanderbilt researchers visualized how staph bacteria modifies lipids in its membrane to evade immune system-mediated killing.
Study identifies first cellular “chaperone” for zinc, sheds light on worldwide public health problem of zinc deficiency
May. 17, 2022—A team led by Vanderbilt researchers has described and characterized the first zinc metallochaperone: a protein that puts zinc into other “client” proteins.
VUMC team discovers how bacterial pathogen survives without water
May. 5, 2022—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.
Study advances understanding of bacterial bioterrorism agent
Apr. 7, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a critical regulatory factor in the bacterium that causes the disease anthrax and has been used as a biological weapon.
Impaired neutrophils in autoimmunity
Jan. 27, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers help answer the question of why patients with autoimmune diseases like lupus are more susceptible to bacterial infections: their neutrophils have impaired antibacterial activity.
Molecular imaging of C. diff infection
Sep. 30, 2021—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.