Biofilm

Featured Researcher — Steve Goodman, PhD
Featured Researcher — Steve Goodman, PhD 150 150 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Steven D. Goodman, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. His research centers on bacterial biofilms — interactive ecosystems of bacteria that form a structure to help the bacteria thrive and fight off threats. These biofilms can be found wherever bacteria…

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Biofilm Bacteria Protected by a Form of DNA Resistant to Current Treatments
Biofilm Bacteria Protected by a Form of DNA Resistant to Current Treatments 150 150 Lauren Bakaletz, PhD and Steve Goodman, PhD

Researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital identify a structural component of the bacterial biofilm matrix in a novel discovery published in Cell that has strong implications as to how biofilms resist current treatments and how to create new therapeutics that will be effective.   Biofilms are communities of bacteria that are protected by an extracellular matrix…

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Probiotic Treatment Promotes Neurodevelopment After Experimental Necrotizing Enterocolitis
Probiotic Treatment Promotes Neurodevelopment After Experimental Necrotizing Enterocolitis 777 640 Lauren Dembeck
B&W image of Dr. Gail Besner posing for a photo in her lab coat

A single dose of a novel live probiotic therapeutic protects the rodent brain during early development and the effects persist into adolescence. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have demonstrated that when given in a biofilm state, probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri prevents the detrimental neurodevelopmental sequalae of experimental necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).1 The findings, published in Brain, Behavior…

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When Dismantling Bacterial Biofilms, the First Line of Defense Comes From Within
When Dismantling Bacterial Biofilms, the First Line of Defense Comes From Within 1024 575 Natalie Wilson
Illustration showing the precise pattern of a biofilm - a perfect, 3D matrix

Researchers identified the mechanism behind the anti-biofilm properties of a protein found in all vertebrates. Too little of this protein allows disease-causing bacteria protected by biofilms to spread, while too much can lead to septic shock. Could a molecule of this protein be engineered to destroy biofilms without negative effects on the body? A team…

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