In an article just published in PNAS Early Edition (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/02/17/1414272112.abstract), Beth Shank’s group demonstrates that antibiotics produced by Bacillus cereus can signal other bacteria to form biofilms, a function that is distinct from the well-known antibacterial properties of these thiazolyl peptides. See the UNC News article at the link below. Antibiotics give rise to new … Read more

The Department of Microbiology and Immunology has lost one of their most dedicated and beloved administrators, Sharon Rone, who retired after 19 years in the department, and 31 years at UNC. Sharon has dedicated her career to helping M&I faculty – she first served as the chair’s administrative assistant, then moved on to be the … Read more

In this new study of hepatitis C virus, M&I Professor Stan Lemon’s group demonstrates that miR-122, a liver-specific microRNA, reduces the proportion of HCV genomes involved in translation while increasing the fraction available for RNA synthesis. See the Cell Host & Microbe article at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1931312815000207

A new intradermal injection model, simulating the flea bite that initiates bubonic plague, is featured in a PLOS Pathogens article from M&I Professor Virginia Miller’s group. Combining bacterial genetics and confocal microscopy, they follow Yersinia pestis as it attempts to disseminate to the lymph nodes. The work shatters longstanding dogma that a phagocyte “Trojan Horse” … Read more

M&I Professor Susan Fiscus was honored at a retirement party hosted by UNC’s Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases. See the link below to read about her career as Director of the Retrovirology Core Laboratory.   Susan Fiscus Retires after 25 Years at UNC – Institute for Global Health & Infectious…

That’s the title of a new Endeavors article that features M&I faculty members Beth Shank and Rita Tamayo, who discuss how their research is helping to identify and study natural bacterial products that could be important in developing new therapeutics. See the article by Susan Hardy at http://endeavors.unc.edu/the_bugs_in_your_drugs

Congratulations to M&I Professor Mike Cohen, selected by the UNC General Alumni Association as one of the three recipients of the 2015 Faculty Service Award. For more about Mike’s accomplishments, see the UNC News article at the link below.   Medical, public health and writing professors honored by alumni association for service to…

A recent PNAS article is the result of a collaboration between M&I Professor Jenny Ting’s lab and Joe DeSimone’s group, who pioneered Particle Replication in Nonwetting Templates (PRINT) technology. Their study of immune responses to protein-loaded nanoparticles has potential for the development of next-generation inhalable vaccines. See the article at the link below, which includes … Read more

Just published online in Immunity: Yisong Wan’s group demonstrates that Smad4 can regulate T cell proliferation independent of TGF-β, presumably by integrating a number of other signaling pathways. The work has implications for inflammation, automimmunity, and tumor immune surveillance. See the article at http://www.cell.com/immunity/abstract/S1074-7613(14)00486-5

“Can AIDS Be Cured?” features M&I Professor Dave Margolis and his Collaboratory’s “shock and kill” strategy as a new therapeutic approach. See the article in the Dec. 22 issue of The New Yorker at the link below.   Can AIDS Be Cured? | The New Yorker newyorker.com Researchers get closer to outwitting a killer. Jerome … Read more