CITRANS Members Awarded NIH R21 Research Awards

Summary Blurb: This research focuses on the development of a novel treatment strategy to tackle Staphylococcus aureus-induced osteomyelitis, a serious and often persistent bone infection characterized by inflammation and bone loss. The ability of S. aureus to invade resident bone cells and produce biofilm on bone tissue, as well as emerging antibiotic resistant strains, limits the efficacy of current therapies. This work, led by Dr. M. Brittany Johnson and Drs. Kirill Afonin and Ian Marriott, investigates the use of immunomodulatory and antimicrobial nucleic acid structures (IMANAS) to act as agonists for the cytosolic pattern recognition receptor, cyclic GMP-AMP synthase. These IMANAS will incorporate antibacterial nanostructured silver and will be designed to enhance protective immune responses by therapeutic targets such as antimicrobial peptides and type I IFNs. Read further about this award at NIH RePORTER.

Summary Blurb: Bacterially-associated neuroinflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) can have severe consequences for affected individuals, including neurological deficits and mortality. Associated inflammatory responses may be particuarly aggravated by infection from intracellular bacterial pathogens, which can invade microglia and lead to chronic infections. To address this major public health issue, this research will focus on the development of a novel nanoparticle-carrier formulation for the delivery of an anti-inflammatory, therapeutic nucleic acid cargo and/or microbial agent into resident CNS cells. This work is led by Dr. Ian Marriott and Dr. Kirill Afonin. Read further about this award at NIH RePORTER.