Vanderbilt Institute For Infection Immunology And Inflammation

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

Vanderbilt immunologists have discovered that the protein Nur77 is part of a control mechanism that guards against autoimmunity in natural killer T cells. Read More

Bacterial invasion of vaginal cells sets up a protective niche and a reservoir for recurrent urinary tract infections, Vanderbilt researchers demonstrated. Read More

The Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4) recently moved into its new research and administrative home. 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 identification of novel protein interactions and sites of modification in proteins involved in mRNA translation adds to understanding of a process that is an important therapeutic target. 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

An unprecedented view of bacterial products within infected tissues opens new opportunities to explore infection biology and devise novel therapeutic strategies. Read More

Heather Pua, MD, PhD, one of 60 investigators to receive the 2019 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, will explore a novel type of cell signaling by RNAs in allergic airway inflammation. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators demonstrated that intestinal cells promote beneficial microbe behavior — the findings support developing microbiota-based therapies for intestinal health. Read More

Understanding the roles of various immune cells that reside in the gut lining could shed light on inflammatory bowel diseases. Read More

Meena Madhur, MD, PhD, has received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Read More

An international team involving Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that a new “checkpoint” protein on immune system cells is active in tumors, and that blocking it — in combination with other treatments — is a successful therapeutic approach in mouse models of cancer. Read More

Six faculty-led teams have received 2018 Microbiome Venture Fund awards to pursue projects related to the broad category of microbiomes—the totality of microbes in or on an environment. Read More