How the syphilis bacterium sticks to and moves through body tissues
Official title: Extracellular Matrix Adhesins of Treponema pallidum
Funded at University of Victoria · NIH-11228411 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are looking at how the syphilis bacterium attaches to body tissues to help prevent infections in people at risk of syphilis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Victoria NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Victoria, Canada) |
| Project start | December 19, 2023 |
| Project end | October 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $316,014 |
| NIH project number | 5R37AI051334-22 |
| Project ID | NIH-11228411 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants would be people with recent or active syphilis, or those at high risk who can safely donate blood or tissue samples for laboratory analysis.
✕Less likely to help
People without syphilis or those seeking immediate therapeutic benefit are unlikely to gain direct benefits from this laboratory-focused research.
What this research studies
If you have or are at risk for syphilis, this research looks at how the bacteria that cause syphilis stick to and move through body tissues. Scientists will study the bacterium's surface proteins (called adhesins) using lab-grown bacteria, cell and tissue assays, and animal models to see which parts help it spread. By pinpointing these bacterial attachments, they hope to find weak spots that a vaccine or new preventative treatment could target. The work is lab-based and aimed at guiding future clinical approaches rather than providing immediate treatment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify targets for vaccines or new prevention methods that reduce syphilis infections, including congenital cases.
How similar studies have gone: Previous laboratory and animal studies have suggested some surface proteins are important for Treponema pallidum, but the specific extracellular matrix adhesins targeted here are still not well understood, so this work builds on limited prior findings.
Where this research is happening
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University of Victoria
Victoria, Canada Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cameron, Caroline E — University of Victoria
- Study coordinator: Cameron, Caroline E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.