Events and News

Battling Drug-Resistant Superbugs

The CDC estimates that at least 2 million people become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year and at least 23,000 people die annually from these infections. Additional risks are posed from other types of organisms once sensitive to antimicrobial medicines and now resistant. This Forum event – featuring BPH Faculty Panelist Marc Lipsitch – examined … Continue reading “Battling Drug-Resistant Superbugs”

Eric Rubin and BPH Grad Jason Zhang Explain TB Survival Mechanism

In a new paper, Eric Rubin, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues describe how tuberculosis (TB) bacteria undergo metabolic adaptation to survive attempts by immune system cells to kill them off by starving them of tryptophan. The researchers also identified a means of inhibiting tryptophan synthesis in … Continue reading “Eric Rubin and BPH Grad Jason Zhang Explain TB Survival Mechanism”

New molecular target for malaria control identified

Blocking egg development in malaria mosquito could reduce transmission of the disease Boston, MA – A new study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and University of Perugia (UNIPG) researchers has shown that egg development in the mosquito species primarily responsible for spreading malaria depends on a switch in the female that is … Continue reading “New molecular target for malaria control identified”

TB’s links to diabetes

Seventh Annual New England Tuberculosis Symposium draws researchers to strategize against metabolic diseases As the global obesity epidemic grows, researchers are looking worriedly at burgeoning rates of diabetes — a top risk factor for tuberculosis — and wondering if the number of TB cases will rise, too. Though infectious diseases such as tuberculosis are often … Continue reading “TB’s links to diabetes”

Brendan Manning Promoted to Professor of Molecular Metabolism

Dr. Manning’s research is focused on the interface between signaling and metabolic control under physiological and pathophysiological conditions.  He is particularly interested in defining the control mechanisms and functions of a complex signaling network that is implicated in a diverse array of human diseases, including the majority of genetic tumor syndromes and cancers, metabolic diseases … Continue reading “Brendan Manning Promoted to Professor of Molecular Metabolism”

Vishal Vaidya receives 2013 Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) Innovation in Regulatory Science Award

NIEHS Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) awardee Vishal Vaidya, Ph.D., is one of six North American scientists selected to receive 2013 Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) Innovation in Regulatory Science Awards. Vaidya (http://www.vaidyalab.org/cv) is an assistant professor of medicine and environmental health at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. He also directs the … Continue reading “Vishal Vaidya receives 2013 Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) Innovation in Regulatory Science Award”

Bacterial metabolites regulate immune system function in the colon and may help reduce inflammatory bowel disease

Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers have discovered that chemicals generated by bacteria in the colon help important immune cells known as Tregs in the colon grow and function well. The researchers also found that these bacterial metabolites reduced colitis in mice with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic disease of the intestines that … Continue reading “Bacterial metabolites regulate immune system function in the colon and may help reduce inflammatory bowel disease”

Podcast: New findings on drug-resistant tuberculosis

Sarah Fortune, Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases, discusses why some people infected with some “bad actor” strains of M. tuberculosis are at very high risk of getting drug resistant TB, regardless of whether they follow their drug regimen perfectly or not.  Click here to view the podcast.