St. Jude On Microbes: 5 Discoveries to Explore

Hi, I’m Dr. Ellie Margolis from the St. Jude Department of Infectious Diseases and here are 5 Discoveries to Explore about microbes. 

Discovery 1

Dr. Victor Torres is studying the interaction between hosts and microbes to gain a more accurate picture of the ways infectious diseases impact health, particularly the human bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which is an increasing threat due to antibiotic resistance. 

Find out more: It takes a village to tackle resistant pathogens

Discovery 2 

The human microbiome, the microbes that live in and on our bodies, impact our health. Dr. Hana Hakim led research to study the gut microbial community in patients with leukemia, showing that the makeup of that microbiome can predict who is likely to get an infection during their cancer treatment. 

Find out more: Continuing a legacy of preventing and managing infections in children with catastrophic illnesses

Discovery 3 

Resistance to antibiotics is a major problem for treating infections, particularly for immunocompromised people such as cancer patients. Dr. Jason Rosch is using genetic analysis to understand potential vulnerabilities in resistant bacteria so that new therapies can be developed to treat resistant pathogens. 

Find out more: Innovation and collaboration in drug development help combat antibiotic resistance

Discovery 4 

Like bacteria, fungi also experience resistance. Dr. Dave Rogers and colleagues are studying pathogenic fungi and the looming threat of drug-resistant species, such as Candida auris and aspergillus, using genomic sequencing to understand how fungi get around existing treatments. 

Find out more: Addressing fungal infections will take a medical mycology moonshot

Discovery 5

Pneumonia is the biggest source of pediatric mortality in the world. Dr. Elaine Tuomanen made major contributions to the creation of more effective vaccines for pneumonia through the characterization of choline-binding protein A, the primary way pneumococcus bacteria bind to lung cells. Such vaccines are being tested clinically to help save lives worldwide. 

Find out more: Universal pneumonia vaccination is the result of decades of research