VI4

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). Read More

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. Read More

Peptides derived from the antimicrobial peptides secreted by frogs could function as microbicides to limit HIV transmission, while sparing protective vaginal bacteria. Read More

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. Read More

All-remote collaboration results in free animal susceptibility tool to help prioritize research and closer examination of at-risk species. Read More

Understanding immunity generated by smallpox vaccine may hold lessons for COVID-19 vaccine development. Read More

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

The H. pylori machinery that “injects” an oncoprotein into stomach cells contributes to the development of gastric cancer, Vanderbilt researchers demonstrate. Read More

A cellular RNA quality control mechanism was known to restrict replication of RNA viruses. Vanderbilt researchers have discovered it is also antiviral against DNA viruses. 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

Timothy Cover and colleagues report new insights into the sources of energy used by a bacterial “machine” linked to the pathogenesis of stomach cancer. 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