Antibiotic Resistance

The World Health Organization ranks antimicrobial resistance as one of the top ten global health risks. Vanderbilt researchers led by Houra Merrikh identified the first anti-evolution compound that targets AMR during treatment of infections with antibiotics. Read More

WATCH: See how Ph.D. candidate Kaitlyn Browning wants to fight miscommunication and misinformation around science. Read More

Understanding how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics and host stresses could guide the development of more effective antimicrobial therapeutics. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers discover how anthrax bacterium defends itself against structural damage and resists the toxicity of the antimicrobial drug targocil. Read More

The increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii requires zinc to cause infection, and Vanderbilt researchers have identified the zinc uptake system it uses. Read More

The new factor, an enzyme involved in host-pathogen interactions, may be a viable target for treating staph infections. Read More

A drug in use clinically to help make vaccines more effective may be a powerful new tool for fighting antibiotic-resistant infections. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified a unique example of communication between bacterial signaling systems, which may have relevance for antibiotic resistance. Read More

New studies of a membrane transporter could explain antibiotic resistance – and lead to novel ways to combat it. Read More

One small chemical change to an existing antibacterial drug results in a compound that is more effective against its target enzyme in tuberculosis, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators are exploring the shape changes in a multidrug transporter to understand the mechanisms of antibacterial resistance. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered how certain molecules with antibiotic properties are synthesized, findings that could lead to new drugs that overcome the increased antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Read More

New Vanderbilt-led research shows hospitals are doing a better job of using antibiotics less commonly associated with antibiotic resistance to treat children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Read More

A family of single-celled organisms that thrive in environments too extreme for most other species to survive may be an untapped source of new antibacterial drugs. Read More

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can share resources to cause chronic infections, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. The findings shed light on a long-standing question in infectious diseases and may inform new treatment strategies. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Richard Armstrong, Ph.D., is part of a multi-institutional research team that has found a new way to interrogate a “super family” of enzymes involved in detoxification, cellular metabolism and antibiotic resistance, which have many other as-yet-undiscovered functions. Read More

Targeting the enzyme FosB could make antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria sensitive to the antibiotic fosfomycin. Read More

Clinicians should be cautious about prescribing newer fluoroquinolone antibiotics to patients with TB risk factors; doing so may jeopardize the use of these agents against TB. Read More

Osteomyelitis, a debilitating bone infection most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) bacteria, is particularly challenging to treat. Read More

Understanding how bacteria become resistant to quinolone antibiotics could guide strategies for developing new antibacterial drugs. Read More