BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application

目前实验室的研究和知识产权进展主要集中在细菌感染上 (矛盾的)结果是使用抗生素。我们的研究是在一个健康战略下进行的 旨在扩大人类和其他动物医疗保健各个方面的跨学科合作。 因此，我们的退伍军人管理局和大学附属团队专注于阐明厌氧菌的致病机制 人类和兽医病原体艰难梭状芽胞杆菌以及腹泻病原体 肠道致病性和肠出血性大肠杆菌。正在进行的研究包括全面的流行病学和 艰难梭菌感染的机械性讯问(CDI)。具体地说，我们有(1)预期的CDI监视 南亚利桑那州退伍军人医院和非退伍军人医院，已经导致了唯一的经过精心管理，指纹识别和完全- 美国西南部艰难梭菌生物信息库的编目；(2)发展了精确基因组学和蛋白质组学 识别导致艰难梭菌新菌株毒力增强的因素的方法；以及(3) 利用(1)和(2)中的信息开发多种新型艰难梭菌抗感染药物，包括靶向 以及生物控制的活生物疗法以及窄谱抗菌剂。我们的退伍军人荣誉奖 截至2020年12月，获得了一项已颁发专利和两项临时专利。 上述活动有两个总体目标。一是提高退役军人健康水平 事实上，老年人和免疫力受损的人，通过开发安全、口服、成本效益高的抗感染药物 可以方便地从临床前流水线过渡到社区的技术。第二个是 继续与退伍军人管理局、国内和国际合作者合作，并培训学员，使目前的努力 可被引导到SAVAHCS站以及 大学附属机构。 因此，这一续订RCS应用程序被设想为对继续在和 在南亚利桑那州弗吉尼亚州医疗保健系统社区外。我们的研究记录强调了 跨学科科学，RCS平台使不同的研究小组和 培育了新的调查途径。通过这些合作培育的核心价值观包括 积极倾听，包容讨论，深思熟虑的沟通。 培训和辅导是私人投资主任专业愿景的一个组成部分，目前的RCS周期已经 提供机会与不同和杰出的受训者和受训者合作。这些措施包括(和 继续包括)第一代大学生、代表性不足的少数民族成员、职业生涯早期 教职员工和医师-科学家实习生。 综上所述，驻地协调员的活动预计将继续促进有重点的实质性贡献 通过开发旨在改善退伍军人健康的产品和技术来改善退伍军人的健康 医疗保健相关感染。

Current Research and Intellectual Property advancement in the laboratory focuses on bacterial infections that result (paradoxically) from the use of antibiotics. Our studies are performed under a One Health strategy that aims to expand interdisciplinary collaboration in diverse aspects of healthcare for humans and other animals. Our VA and University Affiliate teams are thus focused on elucidating pathogenic mechanisms in the anaerobic human and veterinary pathogen Clostridioides difficile, as well as the diarrheal disease organisms Enteropathogenic and Enterohemorrhagic E. coli. Ongoing studies include comprehensive epidemiological and mechanistic interrogation of C. difficile infection (CDI). Specifically, we have (1) prospective CDI surveillance in Southern Arizona VA and non-VA hospitals that has resulted in one of the only curated, fingerprinted and fully- cataloged C. difficile biorepositories in the Southwestern US; (2) developed precision genomics and proteomics approaches to identify factors contributing to the heightened virulence of newer strains of C. difficile; and (3) leveraged the information from (1) and (2) to develop multiple, novel C. difficile anti-infectives including targeted and bio-controlled live biotherapeutics as well as narrow-spectrum antimicrobials. Our VA Merit awards have resulted in one issued, and two Provisional, Patents as of December 2020. There are two over-arching goals of the activities described above. The first is to improve the health of Veterans and, indeed, the elderly and immunocompromised, by developing safe, oral, cost-effective anti-infective technologies that can transition expediently from the pre-clinical pipeline and into the community. The second is to continue to partner with VA, national and international Collaborators and train mentees such that current efforts can be channeled into a legacy plan for anti-infective research both at the SAVAHCS station as well as the University Affiliate. This renewal RCS application is thus envisaged as critical to the continued building of relationships within and outside the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System community. Our research record underscores the power of cross-disciplinary science, and the RCS platform has enabled engagement with diverse research groups and fostered new avenues of investigation. Core values that have been cultivated via these collaborations include active listening, inclusive discussion and thoughtful communication. Training and Mentoring is an integral aspect of the PIs’ professional vision, and the current RCS cycle has provided opportunities to work with diverse and outstanding trainees and mentees. These have included (and continue to include) first-generation college students, members of under-represented minorities, early-career Faculty, and Physician-Scientist trainees. Taken together, RCS activities are envisioned to continue fostering focused and substantive contributions to the betterment of Veterans’ health via the development of products and technologies aimed at ameliorating healthcare-associated infections.