Advances in Immunology and Microbiology Seminar Series
About the event
Featuring research in the areas of:
Epidemiology | Infectious Disease | Disease Ecology | Drug Discovery | Virology |
Global Health | Vector-Borne Disease | Pathology
The Advances in Immunology & Microbiology seminar series is a weekly forum that brings together scientists from diverse fields and disciplines across the College of Veterinary Medicine to discuss research advances in the broad areas of immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, and global health. Seminars feature student speakers from the Immunology & Infectious Disease (IID) doctoral program, IID-affiliated postdoctoral researchers and faculty, intramural speakers from across the university, and extramural speakers.
PRESENTER: Brandon Flatgard, PhD candidate (Mentor: Dr. Amin Islam)
TITLE: Multifactorial Determinants of ESBL-Producing Enterobacterales Colonization: Insights from the WASH Benefits Bangladesh Trial – A Fancier way of saying the same thing, and also calls out the WASH benefits trial in the title
ABSTRACT: The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E), is a growing concern in many parts of the world. This study investigated how hygiene practices, antibiotic use, and household conditions affect ESBL colonization in children from rural Bangladesh. Among 965 children studied, those receiving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions were less likely to carry ESBL-E bacteria, highlighting the role of clean environments in limiting resistance spread. However, antibiotic use, especially repeated courses and specific classes like cephalosporins, was strongly linked to higher colonization rates. Interestingly, children from wealthier households showed increased risk, likely due to easier access to antibiotics. These results underline the need for balanced approaches that improve living conditions while promoting careful antibiotic use. Combating antibiotic resistance will require integrating hygiene improvements with stronger antibiotic stewardship in at-risk communities.
PRESENTER: Sinem Ulusan, PhD candidate (Mentor: Dr. Bonnie Gunn)
TITLE: Investigation of humoral immune profiles and their role in attenuated COVID-19 severity among individuals in Kenya
ABSTRACT: Despite low uptake of vaccines, little to no infection mitigation strategies and clear serologic evidence of infection, most of sub-Saharan Africa countries has fared the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with reduced symptomatic disease and death rate. Many hypotheses such as; warmer weather, a youthful population, and microbiome have been posited to explain the differences in Africa compared to Americas, yet we aimed to determine if there was a unique humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2. To do this, we analyzed SARS-CoV-2 seropositive and seronegative samples from Nairobi, Kenya and compared to a cohort collected in the US in late 2020. We measured the levels of antibodies (Abs) against SARS-CoV-2 Spike [S], receptor binding domain [RBD], and nucleocapsid [N] and hCoVs (229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1) S using a multiplexed Luminex-based assay, and we measured induction of antiviral Ab functions including Ab-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), neutrophil phagocytosis (ADNP), neutralization, NK cell activation (ADNKA), and complement deposition (ADCD). Correlation network analysis revealed that Ab effector functions were strongly associated with SARS-CoV-2 S, RBD and N-specific Abs in both Kenyan- and US-based cohorts. Surprisingly, we observed that hCoV-specific Abs were correlated with the effector functions against SARS-CoV-2 in the Kenyan samples, but not in the US samples. A subset of Kenyan seronegative subjects displayed ADCP and ADNP against SARS-CoV-2, which was reduced when HKU1-specific IgG was depleted from samples, suggesting cross-reactive Ab responses from hCoVs may augment SARS-CoV-2 immunity. Thus, together these data suggests that unique Ab-mediated functions induced by hCoVs in Africa may help explain the disparity in COVID-19 severity observed across the globe.