A University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences researcher has received a $2.2 million National Institutes of Health award for a five-year study of pneumonia associated with mechanical ventilation, UAMS said Wednesday.
Clay Jackson-Litteken, an assistant professor in UAMS’ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, is the study’s principal investigator. The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award will support research into how bacteria interact with the environment created by ventilator equipment and how those interactions may contribute to hospital-acquired infections.
“Ventilator-assisted pneumonia affects a significant proportion of people on ventilators. Importantly, many of these infections are caused by antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, like Acinetobacter baumannii, that make cases difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat with currently available therapies.”
Jackson-Litteken said the project will examine bacterial behavior around the equipment used to support a patient’s breathing. The study is intended to help researchers develop prevention and treatment strategies, UAMS said.
How the study will examine the problem
When a hospital places an endotracheal tube to keep a patient’s airway open, the tube can scrape the airway lining. UAMS said that injury causes inflammation and disrupts natural functions, including the movement of mucus. The tube is then connected to a ventilator, creating conditions in which infectious organisms such as bacteria can grow.
The award is part of the NIH New Innovator program, which funds research proposed by investigators early in their independent careers. NIH describes the awards as supporting innovative biomedical and behavioral research projects with the potential to affect broad areas within the agency’s mission.
- Principal investigator: Clay Jackson-Litteken, Ph.D.
- Institution: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- Award: $2.2 million from the National Institutes of Health
- Study period: Five years
Jon S. Blevins, a professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, said the award recognizes Jackson-Litteken’s research on hospital-acquired infections. Blevins said the work could contribute to scientific knowledge and patient care through its focus on understanding and combating those infections.
UAMS identified Acinetobacter baumannii as one antibiotic-resistant bacterium associated with the infections described by Jackson-Litteken. The research will focus on the interactions between bacteria and the ventilator-associated pneumonia environment rather than on a particular patient treatment.
