{"674151":{"#nid":"674151","#data":{"type":"event","title":"The School of Biological Sciences Spring 2024 Seminar Series presents Dr. Ryan Hunter","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBacterial infections associated with chronic airway disease (cystic fibrosis, COPD, sinusitis) are composed of complex polymicrobial communities that incite persistent inflammation and airway damage.\u0026nbsp; Despite the surge\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;studies characterizing the composition of airway microbiota, a lack of effective therapeutics remains due to our limited understanding of how bacterial species interact with one another\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ein\u0026nbsp;vivo\u003C\/em\u003E, how they adapt to the airway microenvironment, and their co-evolution over time. For example, nutrient sources that sustain bacterial growth\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ein\u0026nbsp;vivo\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Eare poorly understood. We have examined the role of airway mucus\u0026nbsp;in shaping the ecophysiology of the cystic fibrosis lung microbiota. Despite mucins (the major macromolecular constituent of mucus) representing an abundant pool of bioavailable carbon, surprisingly, we have discovered that canonical airway pathogens (e.g.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EPseudomonas aeruginosa\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Eand\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EStaphylococcus aureus\u003C\/em\u003E) inefficiently use mucins\u0026nbsp;on\u0026nbsp;their own. However, anaerobic \u201ccommensal\u201d bacteria, more commonly associated with the oral cavity but found in abundance in airway mucus, can cross-feed and stimulate the growth and virulence of airway pathogens by degrading mucins and liberating nutritional byproducts.\u0026nbsp;In\u0026nbsp;this\u0026nbsp;seminar, I will present our recent work supporting a keystone role of oral microbes in\u0026nbsp;the development of chronic lung infections, a central role of mucin degradation and fermentation\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;CF pathogen colonization, and outside-the-box half-baked ideas for airway disease management.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHosted by Marvin Whiteley\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Biology of Big: Physiological consequences of living large on the landscape\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Biology of Big: Physiological consequences of living large on the landscape Dr. "}],"uid":"36506","created_gmt":"2024-04-11 17:30:52","changed_gmt":"2024-09-10 18:33:42","author":"rbailey74","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2024-09-23T11:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2024-09-23T12:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2024-09-23T12:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2024-09-23 15:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2024-09-23 16:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2024-09-23 16:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"EBB 1005","extras":["free_food"],"hg_media":{"673969":{"id":"673969","type":"image","title":"ryan hunter.jpg","body":null,"created":"1715277014","gmt_created":"2024-05-09 17:50:14","changed":"1715277014","gmt_changed":"2024-05-09 17:50:14","alt":"ryan hunter","file":{"fid":"257431","name":"ryan hunter.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/09\/ryan%20hunter.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/09\/ryan%20hunter.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2112199,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/05\/09\/ryan%20hunter.jpg?itok=mHGUfxBC"}}},"media_ids":["673969"],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"172458","name":"biological sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"177814","name":"Postdoc"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003Erbailey74@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}