University of Wisconsin - Madison
Source: The Atlantic, Author: Katherine J. Wu Every drop of pus that’s squeezed out of the human body is a squidgy mess—a souvenir of an infection gone awry, a reminder to never eat off-color custard again. It is also a wartime memorial, dedicated to the corpses of the many thousands of microscopic soldiers that once …
The intersection of disciplines can be an innovative place for research. The opportunity to work with scientists across departments led Andrew Hryckowian, PhD, assistant professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, to UW–Madison. In May 2020, Dr. Hryckowian joined the Department of Medicine and the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, where his lab studies the gut microbiome and …
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation announced that four projects have been selected to receive development funding through the WARF Accelerator Microbiome Challenge Grant. From infection-fighting probiotics to methods for managing mosquito populations, these technologies have high potential impact. Researchers representing 20 departments and centers applied for the grant. The selected projects are led by the …
Congratulations to Dr. Andy Mehle on being elected to the governing council of the American Society of Virology (ASV) as their Animal Virology Councilor. The election polls the international membership of ASV to seat Councilors for 3 year terms. Founded in 1981, the American Society for Virology is the professional society for virology researchers with …
A tiny molecule found among microscopic bacteria living in a mutually beneficial partnership with golf-ball-sized squid may give scientists a lead on how the bacteria are able to act in concert as a helpful colony instead of millions of individual freeloaders. The Hawaiian bobtail squid is a remarkable example of symbiosis. Inside a small organ …
Dr. Lindsay Kalan and graduate student, Mary Hannah Swaney, have been published in the American Society of Microbiology’s Infection and Immunity’s special issue on “Future Leaders in the Field of Host-Microbe Interactions.” The article is titled, “Living in Your Skin: Microbes, Molecules, and Mechanisms.” The full article can be read on the American Society of …
Source: WARF Selected from more than 400 innovation disclosures, two University of Wisconsin–Madison teams working at the frontiers of cancer immunotherapy and bioengineering have taken top honors from WARF. The 2020 WARF Innovation Award winners are: Jenny Gumperz and Dana Baiu (medical microbiology & immunology) for their work, Killer Combination: Multicell Conjugates for Activating Antigen-Specific T Cell …
Undergraduate Emanuel Burgos, from the Mandel Lab, was selected as one of the 10 national winners of the Promega DOORS Scholarship. The goal of Promega’s Diversification of Our Research Scientists (D.O.O.R.S) Scholarship is to recognize and empower underrepresented minority students by offering a $5,000 award that can be used towards resources to support tuition and …
Source: UW News By combing the ocean for antimicrobials, scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have discovered a new antifungal compound that efficiently targets multi-drug-resistant strains of deadly fungi without toxic side effects in mice. The new molecule was discovered in the microbiome of a sea squirt from the Florida Keys as part of an …
Congratulations to Principal Investigator Jenny Gumperz, PhD, along with Co-PI Christian Capitini, MD, Department of Pediatrics, and Fellow Nicholas Hess, PhD, on the funding of their pilot grant entitled, “Uncovering Predictive Cellular Biomarkers of Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GVHD) Following Hematopoetic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT).” This $25,000 Translational Basic & Clinical Research pilot grant was funded by the …
Source: UW ECALS Nancy Keller, a professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in SMPH and the Department of Bacteriology in CALS, has been selected to receive the Charles Thom Award, among the highest scientific awards given by the Society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. “I am privileged to receive this award and was particularly …
Abstract: Cells infected by influenza virus mount a large-scale antiviral response and most cells ultimately initiate cell-death pathways in an attempt to suppress viral replication. We performed a CRISPR–Cas9-knockout selection designed to identify host factors required for replication after viral entry. We identified a large class of presumptive antiviral factors that unexpectedly act as important …