Matthew H Samore, MD

Epidemiology

3 year grant from AHRQ

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Alternative Implementation Strategies for Antibiotic Stewardship

Our grant addresses two questions that pertain to the problem of antibiotic resistance. The first question is – which ways of implementing antibiotic stewardship are most effective in promoting appropriate antibiotic use. The second is – how do changes in antibiotic use affect the prevalence of resistance across a range of bacterial species.  This project involves a collaboration between VA, Intermountain Healthcare, and University of Utah

Daniel T. Leung, MD, MSC

Infectious Disease

DOD

Respiratory Immune Dysregulation Following Intestinal Infection

The objective of the grant is to examine how intestinal infection may affect the immunity and health of the respiratory tract. We hypothesize that an intestinal infection may “weaken” the mucosal immune system’s ability to fight subsequent respiratory infections. In this study, we will give mice an intestinal infection, and look at changes in the lung’s immune-fighting cells during and after the intestinal infection. We will also look at how an intestinal infection may affect the animal’s response to pneumonia challenge, and whether giving a probiotic or antibiotic during the intestinal infection changes this. This study is innovative in that there is very little research on how infection at one site may change the body’s ability to respond to infection at another site. Most studies done in the past have focused on the effects of infection at one mucosal site, despite the fact that in reality, military personnel are potentially exposed to infectious challenges of multiple mucosal organs simultaneously or consecutively. If successful, these studies have the potential to help us determine whether (and how) intestinal infections affect the respiratory tract, and whether intervening on intestinal infections could help prevent respiratory infections.

N. Lynn Henry, MD, PhD

Oncology

American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant

A Study to Identify Predictors of Response to Duloxetine in Breast Cancer Patients with Chronic Pain

Duloxetine is an antidepressant that is also effective for treating multiple chronic pain conditions. In this project, we will enroll women with a history of breast cancer who developed moderate to severe pain following breast cancer treatment. Patients will be treated with duloxetine for 5 weeks, and monitored to assess how well duloxetine reduces pain, as well as the mechanism by which it reduces pain. By understanding more about which patients respond to duloxetine and how the drug works, we hope to identify new treatment options for breast cancer survivors with chronic pain.