IMI
Sarah Clark, PhD
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Fabrice Jean-Pierre, PhD
University of Sherbrooke
The cystic fibrosis (CF) airway contains complex microbial communities that shift with age and clinical disease. Increased attention to CF microbial community dynamics has revealed multiple interactions between CF pathogens, other CF microbes, and host cells which may alter disease state and antimicrobial responsiveness to front-line CF drugs. Recent models have expanded beyond the concept of “one microbe, one disease” by incorporating multi-species cultures and dual microbial exposures on host epithelial and immune cells. Ecological networking has also included multimodal culture-independent approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics to discern these complex interactions. In this workshop, we explore the ecology of CF airway communities towards effective therapies that may be translated from the lab to the clinic and vice-versa. We will examine how interactions among bacterial, viral, and fungal communities influence composition and function, and ultimately drive CF lung disease. We will also survey how these high-dimensional interactions are reciprocally influenced by host cell functions, innate immune factors, and CFTR modulators. The ability to accurately model these complex community dynamics across disease states will improve optimization of current therapeutics and indicate potential novel approaches to improve the quality of life for people with CF.
Speaker: Justin Luu, n/a – Emory University
Speaker: Jack H. Congel, BS – National Jewish Health