Gut infection

We do not understand how Clostridioides difficile establishes an infection in the gut. This bacterium can cause damage in the gut, causing diarrhoea. However the initial steps of how the bacterium attaches and colonises the gut remain poorly understood. The Medical and Life Sciences Research Fund grant was awarded to Mr Jeffrey Cheng. He and the team at Warwick School of Life Sciences will use cutting edge sequencing methodologies along with human gut mimics to investigate Clostridioides difficile infections and identify bacterial proteins which are important for establishment of infection. Molecules which are crucial for the bacterium to establish an infection make excellent drug targets or vaccine candidates, and could potentially provide new therapeutic strategies.