Research
We are actively engaged in research into the mechanisms of infection and infection related sequelae that preferentially occur in women and the differences in infection sensitivity and response in females and males.
This false-colored scanning electron micrograph shows how a mouse bladder that has been “remodeled” by previous severe E. coli infection has an altered response to subsequent infection after sterilizing antibiotics. The superficial cells of the bladder epithelium (blue) are 20 times smaller than in a normal bladder, and they exfoliate rapidly, revealing the underlying immature epithelial cells (purple). Many neutrophils (yellow) are infiltrating the bladder, indicating severe inflammation. This image was used as the January cover of Nature Microbiology.
This false-colored scanning electron micrograph shows severe inflammation (indicated by neutrophils, yellow) and unchecked bacterial replication (E. coli, red) in a “remodeled” mouse bladder. We have found that long-lasting, severe bladder infection leaves a “molecular imprint” that can make the host highly susceptible to recurrent infection upon a subsequent bacterial exposure. This image won the 2016 FASEB BioArt competition.