Principal Investigator:
Emily Gurnee, MD
University of Colorado Denver
Overview:
Staphylococcus aureus is a type of bacteria that commonly causes skin infections. Infections with this type of bacteria may worsen both common and rare skin diseases seen in children. There are several different types of Staphylococci and some may be more likely to cause severe disease than others. We plan to learn more about the relationship between skin disease and the type of bacteria by collecting skin swabs from children with atopic dermatitis, and epidermolysis bullosa, two very different diseases cared for by pediatric dermatologists. We plan to compare how severe these skin diseases are when Staphylococcal bacteria are present, and to investigate how the Staphylococci we find might be causing worsening disease. The purpose of this project is to better understand the relationship between Staphylococcus and pediatric skin disease with the long term goal of better understanding how to treat skin diseases.
Status:
This project was funded by a 2020 Weston Career Development Award.