Description:

Microbiology-Immunology Seminar Series

With the rapid increase of antibiotic resistance among pathogens, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are an escalating threat to patients. Here, through a novel bioinformatics approach, we have uncovered a population dominance phenomenon during mixed-strain pneumonias by two separate nosocomial pathogens, Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Additionally, through an adapted INSeq protocol, we identified metabolic pathways and other genes necessary for the establishment of dominance during mixed-strain infections. Understanding how bacteria compete with each other in vivo may explain why some strains more frequently cause infections and may better characterize the pathogenesis of hospital-acquired pneumonias.

Mallory Agard, Graduate Student

Northwestern University Feinberg

Advisor: Dr. Alan Hauser