Vanderbilt Institute for Infection Immunology and Inflammation Archives

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

VUMC postdoctoral scientist named HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow

Feb. 18, 2021—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).

Artist Anjali Kumari, an undergraduate student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, worked with Vanderbilt PhD student Kelsey Pilewski on this piece that depicts co-infection by two viruses, HIV (blue) and HCV (red), and the evolution of antibodies to combat virus infection.

Grant helps expand VI4’s Artist-in-Residence program

Oct. 29, 2020—An innovative Vanderbilt program that brings together scientists and artists with the shared goal of scientific communication is set to expand with support from a three-year grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

Rational vaccine design

Sep. 22, 2020—Understanding immunity generated by smallpox vaccine may hold lessons for COVID-19 vaccine development.

Probing pathogen antibiotic resistance

Sep. 17, 2020—Understanding how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics and host stresses could guide the development of more effective antimicrobial therapeutics.

“Nur” target may aid arthritis treatment

Jul. 13, 2020—Vanderbilt immunologists have discovered that the protein Nur77 is part of a control mechanism that guards against autoimmunity in natural killer T cells.

Recurrent UTIs linked to hidden reservoir

Jul. 9, 2020—Bacterial invasion of vaginal cells sets up a protective niche and a reservoir for recurrent urinary tract infections, Vanderbilt researchers demonstrated.

VUMC’s Byndloss recognized for microbiome research

Jul. 9, 2020—Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, has been selected as a runner-up of the inaugural NOSTER & Science Microbiome Prize.

Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, left, Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, and Eric Skaar, PhD, pose for a photo during a recent tour of new space for the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation.

New space bolsters infectious disease and immunology discovery

Jul. 9, 2020—The Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4) recently moved into its new research and administrative home.

Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation holds third annual symposium

Jun. 24, 2020—The Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4) held its third annual symposium last week as a virtual, on-line event to preserve social distancing during COVID-19.

C. diff captures blood cell cofactor to build defensive shield

Jun. 10, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists have identified a C. diff protein system that senses and captures heme (part of hemoglobin) to build a protective shield that fends off threats from our immune system and antibiotics.

Jim Cassat, MD, PhD, and colleagues are studying enzymes involved in metabolism that are particularly important for Staphylococcus aureus to survive in host tissues.

Study explores how staph bacteria can survive in bone

Jun. 3, 2020—A comprehensive evaluation of the metabolic pathways that support Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) growth during invasive bone infections could offer new targets for treatment.

The adaptable anthrax bacterium

May. 14, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers discover how anthrax bacterium defends itself against structural damage and resists the toxicity of the antimicrobial drug targocil.