Staphylococcus aureus (staph)

September 4, 2024

Bacterial metabolism plays role in staph antibiotic tolerance

Staph is a leading bacterial cause of death from bloodstream, bone and joint infections, in part because of high rates of antibiotic treatment failure.

By Leigh MacMillan
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
January 27, 2022

Impaired neutrophils in autoimmunity

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.

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
VUMC postdoctoral fellow Valeria Reyes Ruiz, PhD, has been selected as a 2020 Hanna Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
February 18, 2021

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
June 9, 2020

Staph’s activation of blood clotting

Staph bacteria may change the factor they use to activate blood clotting — to evade the immune response — a new study suggests.

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
October 31, 2019

Imaging host-pathogen battle for metal

An unprecedented view of bacterial products within infected tissues opens new opportunities to explore infection biology and devise novel therapeutic strategies.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 25, 2019

A new antibiotic’s mechanism of action

Vanderbilt investigators have characterized how a new first-in-class antibacterial drug works, which will guide the development of additional compounds that overcome antibacterial resistance.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 28, 2018

New staph virulence factor

Jun. 28, 2018—The new factor, an enzyme involved in host-pathogen interactions, may be a viable target for treating staph infections.
By Leigh MacMillan
March 15, 2018

New imaging approach offers unprecedented views of staph infection

A new integrated imaging approach makes it possible to probe the molecules involved in invasive infections and can be broadly applied to any health or disease state.
By Leigh MacMillan
September 21, 2017

Excess dietary manganese increases risk of staph infection in heart

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”).
By Leigh MacMillan
July 27, 2017

Investigators use light to kill microbial ‘vampires’

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.”
By Bill Snyder
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