Nicole Gilbert
Washington University in St Louis, MO·Microbiology & Immunology
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) strike millions of women and catheterized patients, and growing antibiotic resistance in the bacteria that cause them makes new prevention strategies urgent. One project asks how bacteria from the vagina quietly set the stage for bladder infections.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Biomedical Engineering
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
urinary tract infection
recurrent UTI
uropathogenic Escherichia coli
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Jan 2029
What they work on
- Optimize the design and fabrication of 3D-bioprinted catheter tubing that carries live Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, a probiotic strain, for long-lasting release of bacteria, lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide.
- Test whether probiotic bioprinted catheters are safe and prevent catheter-associated UTI caused by uropathogenic E. coli, using in vitro tests and a preclinical mouse model.
- Measure how the probiotic and lactic acid released from bioprints affect the host's inflammatory response and markers of CAUTI disease progression in mice.
- Define how Gardnerella, a vaginal bacterium, triggers bladder-lining cell death and shedding that worsens E. coli UTI, and test whether this extends to other uropathogens, using mouse models.
- Identify the genetic features of Gardnerella strains linked to "covert pathogenesis" in the bladder by comparing genetically diverse strains in mice.
- Relate vaginal Gardnerella abundance to bladder-cell shedding and recurrent UTI in women, using existing clinical sample banks.
More about the research
The other aims to block infections on urinary catheters by building helpful bacteria directly into the tubing. Both projects focus on uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), the E. coli strains that cause most UTIs, and on how other microbes change its success in the bladder.
Why it matters
Catheter-associated UTIs make up about 40% of hospital-acquired infections, with more than 1 million US cases and nearly $2 billion in yearly costs. A probiotic-releasing catheter could offer a way to prevent them that does not rely on antibiotics. Understanding how vaginal Gardnerella worsens bladder infection could lead to screening tests that identify women at risk for recurrent UTI. It could also enable prevention approaches that target vaginal bacteria rather than the bladder alone.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Scott J. Hultgren
Washington University in St Louis, MO·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine how shape changes in bacterial adhesins control attachment, comparing FimH of uropathogenic E. coli and Klebsiella, the pectin-binding YehD and the fibrinogen-binding Abp2D of Acinetobacter using structural biology, molecular dynamics and biochemistry.
Mohammad Al-bataineh
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Microbiology & Immunology
Characterize how uropathogenic E. coli binds MUC1, a sugar-coated protein on urinary tract cells. Use purified MUC1 and cells with different MUC1 levels and sugar patterns to test whether it acts as a docking receptor or a decoy.
Victoria Handa
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Medicine & Clinical Research
Measure how vaginal estrogen therapy changes the vaginal and urinary microbiota, especially specific Lactobacillus species such as L. crispatus, in postmenopausal women with recurrent UTI, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing before and after treatment.
The school
Washington University in St Louis: 97 labs on PI Pages, $1.2B a year on research, 365 research doctorates a year.
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