Benjamin Hunt

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are one of the most common nosocomial infections worldwide and represents a significant healthcare burden. CAUTI is often a polymicrobial disease, where a patient is infected with multiple uropathogens. Thus, my research focuses primarily on investigations into the polymicrobial interactions occurring in CAUTI.

Currently, my primary focus is on the interactions between Gram-negative, Proteus mirabilis, which is one of the most common causes of CAUTI, and the Gram-positive, Enterococcus faecalis. It has been recently shown that when grown in co-culture the two organisms display enhanced biofilm biomass production and P. mirabilis shows increased urease activity.  Thus, the goal of this project is defining the mechanisms through which this biofilm and urease modulation occur and investigating inhibitors to control this modulation to improve patient outcomes.

• Chelsie Armbruster, PhD

• PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA