David Tyus, PhD

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) remains one of the most prominent hospital-acquired infections in the US. C. difficile toxins damage the intestine, commonly leading to diarrheal illness but is potentially deadly. Many severe cases of CDI are accompanied by vascular complications including edema and excessive immune cell infiltration, though the mechanisms underpinning this vascular dysfunction are not clearly understood. Recently, there has been increasing evidence that intestinal neurons mediate CDI pathogenesis. As the nervous system is a potent regulator of vascular function, the focus of my research is to define the mechanisms by which neurovascular interactions might contribute to disease in CDI.