VI4 Archives
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.
Technique hastens COVID-19 antibody discovery
Mar. 10, 2022—Optimization of a technique developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center enables rapid and efficient identification of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19.
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.
H. pylori, lipid loss and stomach cancer
Jan. 17, 2022—H. pylori infection — a strong risk factor for stomach cancer — changes the composition of stomach lipids, which could offer new biomarkers for detecting premalignant changes, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.
Salmonella overcomes host resistance
Jan. 13, 2022—The invading pathogen Salmonella, a common cause of food poisoning, can change its metabolism to overcome host resistance to its colonization.
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.
Caught in a web: study reveals that immune cells cooperate to trap and kill bacteria
Sep. 10, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a new antibacterial mechanism that could inspire novel strategies for combating staph and other extracellular bacterial pathogens.
Temperature, newts and a skin-eating fungus
Mar. 8, 2021—Salamanders are more sensitive to a skin-eating fungus at colder temperatures, pointing to locations of North America where pathogen invasion is most likely.
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).
Study details early events of inflammatory response
Dec. 10, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a key molecular player in the early events of the inflammatory response to infection. The findings suggest new therapeutic possibilities for enhancing the inflammatory response to protect against pathogens and for blocking inflammation gone awry in diseases like arthritis and atherosclerosis.
V Scholar Award to support Byndloss’ cancer research
Nov. 18, 2020—Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, has received a V Scholar Award to support her studies of the links between obesity, the gut microbiome and colorectal cancer.
