Understanding how bacteria and fungi interact to cause catheter-related urinary infections
Official title: Elucidating fungal and bacterial polymicrobial interactions during catheter-associated urinary tract infections
Funded at University of Notre Dame · NIH-11373077 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are studying how common bladder infections linked to catheters happen when bacteria and fungi work together, and what that could mean for better prevention and treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Notre Dame NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Notre Dame, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2025 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $195,625 |
| NIH project number | 5R21AI194476-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11373077 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with long-term catheter use who are at risk for CAUTI and those with candidal or bacterial urinary infections may be relevant for future studies.
✕Less likely to help
This exploratory grant may not directly benefit patients in the immediate term, as results are preliminary and focused on mechanisms.
What this research studies
This project looks at how three key organisms—E. coli, E. faecalis, and Candida albicans—interact in catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The team will explore how these microbes influence each other’s growth, movement, and ability to form biofilms in urine and on catheters. They will focus on the fungal regulator EFG1 to see if its activity changes when other microbes are present, which could alter virulence and infection outcomes. The study uses preliminary lab findings to guide three related aims in an exploratory R21 project to uncover mechanisms that could inform future therapies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could lead to new strategies to prevent or treat polymicrobial CAUTIs by targeting key microbial interactions.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has shown single-pathogen effects; this project extends to multi-species interactions and builds on in vitro and in vivo observations, with potential for novel insights.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Flores-Mireles, Ana Lidia — University of Notre Dame
- Study coordinator: Flores-Mireles, Ana Lidia
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
New ways to stop urinary tract infections by blocking bacterial adhesion
A study to test new methods that prevent bacteria from sticking to urinary tract tissues and devices, potentially stopping infections before they start.
-
Hybridization capture sequencing to quickly identify canine urinary pathogens and resistance genes
A new sequencing approach directly from dog urine aims to rapidly identify bacteria causing urinary infections and their drug-resistance profiles to guide treatment.
-
Enterococcal Proteases and CAUTI: How the body’s environment activates bacteria to cause infections
A small grant is exploring how two enzymes from Enterococcus faecalis interact with the urine environment to drive catheter-associated urinary tract infections and why these infections are hard to treat.
-
Daily nitrofurantoin with or without bladder cauterization to prevent recurrent bladder infections in women
This study tests two approaches to prevent recurrent bladder infections in women: taking a low-dose antibiotic every day versus adding a bladder cauterization procedure plus the same daily antibiotic.
-
New bacterial pathway that helps cause bladder infections
Researchers are exploring how bacteria steal nutrients in the bladder and how the body fights them to help people with urinary tract infections.
-
New oral antifungal for tough Candida UTIs
A Johns Hopkins team is testing a new oral antifungal medicine called fungerps to treat urinary tract infections caused by azole-resistant Candida fungi.
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.