Dr. Nadja Cech (Chemistry & Biochemistry) received new funding from the University of Colorado Denver for the project “Quorum sensing, diversity and skin inflammation.”
The surface of the skin is in constant contact with microbes. Resident bacteria have been proven to strongly influence epidermal function. This research will investigate how communication between Staphylococcal species results in important changes in skin function. The basis of this line of investigation comes from the researchers’ recent publications that have shown how diversity and quorum-sensing mechanisms are used by commensal bacteria to inhibit the production of damaging toxins and proteases from Staphylococcus aureus. The observations gained from this proposal will provide key new insights into the importance of bacterial diversity on epithelial surfaces and specific mechanisms that govern their interactions.
