Ireti Eni-aganga received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Arizona State University in 2014. She's currently a PhD candidate at Meharry Medical College in the laboratory of Dr. Jui Pandhare. Her work is part of the Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research (CAHDR)... Click the image on the left to continue reading.

Fecal microbiota transplant promotes response in immunotherapy-refractory melanoma patients. Baruch E, et al. in Science, February 5, 2021 Neurological Manifestations of COVID-19 Feature T Cell Exhaustion and Dedifferentiated Monocytes in Cerebrospinal Fluid. Heming M, et al.

Dr. Alexander earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He's an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Molecular Physiology & Biophysics at Vanderbilt researching the role of adaptive immunity in the pathogenesis of hypertension and associated cardiovascular disease... Click Dr. Alexander's photo to continue reading.

Nicolas grew up in Columbia, SC and attended the College of Charleston. After graduating in 2018, he participated in a post-baccalaureate experience program (PREP) at the Medical University of South Carolina, working in the lab of Amy D. Bradshaw Ph.D. He came to Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2019 via Interdisciplinary Graduate Program and ultimately joined the lab of Mariana Byndloss D.V.M, Ph.D. His thesis project is centered around understanding the mechanisms bacterial pathogens use to take full advantage both of the human host and the gut microbiota. He is specifically looking into the metabolism of short-chain fatty acids and amino acids... Click the image on the left to continue reading.

On January 11th, 2020, scientists around the globe awoke to the public deposition of the entire genome for the novel coronavirus – later known as SARS-CoV-2. That weekend, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin designed a vaccine based on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which adorns the surface of the virus. Just two weeks later, scientists at the NIH's Vaccine Research Center started testing the vaccine in animals. This initial design was licensed for use in the first three FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines. Many contributing factors lead to the expediency of this vaccine design, none of which compromised safety. But how could we rapidly develop a vaccine for a novel virus while other viral targets have remained elusive?... Click the image to the left to continue reading.

Dr. Newcomb earned her undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University in 2002 and her Ph.D. from University of Michigan in 2007. She trained as a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. R. Stokes Peebles, Jr. M.D. laboratory at Vanderbilt University focusing on lung inflammation, viral infections, and T cell immune responses. In 2014, Dr. Newcomb started her laboratory at Vanderbilt to study how sex hormones regulate mechanisms of airway inflammation in asthma. Dr. Newcomb currently has 2 R01s to study these mechanisms...... Click Dr. Newcomb's photo to continue reading.

The gut microbiota is associated with immune cell dynamics in humans. Schluter J, et al. in Nature, December 1, 2020 Rapid transcriptional and metabolic adaptation of intestinal microbes to host immune activation. Becattini S, et al.

Last summer, acts of racial violence prompted millions of people to take to the streets to protest the longstanding injustices entrenched in our society. The scientific community – including the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation (VI4) – began to publicly acknowledge and reckon with their complacency in the inequities and discrimination that have always existed. It is clear that the community needs to change, but that doesn’t occur without dedicated and intentional work.