[et_pb_section fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_slider admin_label=”Fullwidth Slider” show_arrows=”on” show_pagination=”on” auto=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” module_id=”interior”][et_pb_slide background_image=”https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cfrtc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/microscope.jpg” background_color=”#ffffff” alignment=”center” background_layout=”dark” \/][\/et_pb_fullwidth_slider][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=”Fellowships Sidebar” orientation=”left” area=”et_pb_widget_area_11″ background_layout=”light” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Past Fellow Forsberg text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n
Fellow: Cara Forsberg, PhD<\/a> Mentor: \u00a0Colin Manoil, PhD The goal of this study is to identify bacterial traits that enable Pseudomonas aeruginosa<\/em> to cause chronic infection within the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis. While the host response and the lung microenvironment may also influence the outcome of infection, there are likely bacterial factors that promote chronic infection in the lung. Once established, these infections are highly resistant to antibiotic therapy and lead to a dramatic decline in lung function. Therefore, understanding the bacterial factors that enable successful long-term infection may identify new therapeutic targets. We will identify bacterial traits that correlate with infection outcome by characterizing two classes of P. aeruginosa<\/em> isolates obtained through the Early Pseudomonas Infection Control (EPIC) clinical trial; \u201ceradicated\u201d isolates were easily cleared from the lung, whereas \u201cpersistent\u201d isolates were not cleared despite continued antibiotic treatment. To discover potential differences between these strains we will measure their growth in response to various stress and metabolic conditions (Aim 1a), and in the presence of common co-colonizing bacterial species (Aim 1b). The CF lung represents a polymicrobial community, especially in young patients, and the eventual success or clearance of P. aeruginosa<\/em> isolates may be influenced by their ability to compete with neighboring bacteria in the lung. These techniques will identify differences in response to various environmental conditions. To complement these approaches, we will also assess the performance of persistent and eradicated strains in two independent animal models of infection (Aim 2). Both approaches will likely identify differences among these isolates, which may be conferred by strain-specific (\u201caccessory\u201d) genes. We will identify accessory genes from sequenced eradicated and persistent isolates that are associated with infection outcome and directly assess a role for these genes in response to environmental and infection conditions (Aim 3). The study of isolates known to have different infection outcomes may uncover bacterial factors central to the establishment of chronic infection, which could lead to the identification of targets for novel preventative therapies.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fellow: Cara Forsberg, PhD Mentor: \u00a0Colin Manoil, PhD P.I.: Ian de boer, MD<\/a>
\nGenome Sciences<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Professor,\u00a0Genome Sciences<\/p>\n
\nGenome Sciences<\/p>\n
\nProfessor
\nGenome Sciences<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
Associate Professor of Medicine
Nephrology<\/p>