Why are you pursuing your major or field of study?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nI/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019ve always been fascinated by the mechanisms of infection and immunity. UCF has given me the opportunity to take a closer look at the boundary between host and pathogen in this course of study./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n
What does your research examine and how does it impacts the community?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nMy research looks at the effects of a bacterium called Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis, or MAP, on vitamin D signaling in immune cells. This research is important for patients infected with MAP, which includes people with rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019s Disease. The results show that vitamin D supplements may be less effective for reducing inflammation in MAP-positive patients. Most people know that vitamin D is important for bone health, but it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019s also a critical signal for parts of the immune system and a lack of active vitamin D in a type of cell called macrophages leads to increased inflammation and a weakened response to bacterial infection. The data shows that MAP can stop macrophages from processing vitamin D/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019s signal in the cell, which lets the bacterium survive longer and cause more damaging inflammation. My colleagues and I discovered that a protein called cathelicidin is responsible for translating the signal from vitamin D into reduced inflammation and pathogen destruction, and MAP survives better when cathelicidin is blocked or absent./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nHow did did you develop the idea for your research project?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nMy project is part of an ongoing effort in Dr. Saleh Naser/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019s laboratory to examine how persistent mycobacterial infection affects the immune system, especially in the context of chronic disease. Previous work has identified changes in nicotine signaling in MAP-positive Crohn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019s patients and worsening rheumatoid arthritis symptoms during MAP infection. A fascinating paper in 2019 discovered that M. (mycobacterium) tuberculosis, which is related to MAP, can interfere with vitamin D signaling in macrophages. Dr. (Ahmad) Qasem, our postdoctoral scholar, reasoned that something similar might be happening during MAP infection./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n
What should people know about your research?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nThis research hinges on the fact that most vitamin D in the human body is inactive and freely circulates in the blood. The kidneys can activate a small amount of inactive vitamin D during conditions of low calcium, but this isn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019t enough to stimulate the immune cells and it can/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019t be fixed with normal commercial supplements, which are inactive. However, since MAP is susceptible to certain commercial antibiotic cocktails, the problem of blocked vitamin D signaling may be fixable in MAP-positive patients, which is what we are aiming to help people with./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n
Why does research matter to you?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nI was raised to believe that our minds are a gift, and that knowledge is a tool to make the world a better place. Every bit of knowledge we create about human health is one tiny step towards easing suffering and making someone else/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019s life safer and better. I will always be proud to be a part of that process./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n
Why did you choose UCF?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nI chose UCF because I was impressed with the breadth of programs and variety of innovative research opportunities offered. It seemed like a place where anyone could find their niche. The location of the campus in sunny Orlando certainly didn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019t hurt either./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n
What are some of your other interests?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nI like to read and write short stories, as well as play tabletop games./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ph.D. student Joseph Vaccaro /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u201921MS looks at the role of the bacteria connected to Crohn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019s Disease for potential clues about the body/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/u2019s immunity system./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":127310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[12,23,27],"tags":[653,11,979,14916,7093],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-127309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-research","category-student-life","tag-burnett-school-of-biomedical-sciences","tag-graduate-studies","tag-college-of-medicine","tag-research","tag-student-research-week"],"yoast_head":"/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/nStudent Research Week: How a Special Bacteria and Vitamin D Impact Immunity | 女仆AV News/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/127309/n