Gayatri Vedantam

Dr. Gayatri Vedantam is a Professor in the School of Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona and holds a Research Career Scientist appointment with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Her research program is federally funded and spans both institutions, focusing on bacterial pathogenesis, clinical microbiology, and healthcare-associated infections. She has led significant work on Clostridioides difficile, particularly in understanding virulence mechanisms and developing non-antibiotic interventions.

Dr. Vedantam earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she studied chromosomally mediated sulfonamide resistance in Escherichia coli. Since then, she has held continuous research and academic appointments, including at Loyola University Medical Center, Hines VA Hospital, and the University of Arizona, where she has been since 2009.

Her research interests include bacterial pathogenesis, antibiotic resistance, microbial virulence factors, host-pathogen interactions, and the development of synthetic biologics for infection prevention. She has made significant contributions to understanding C. difficile surface proteins, toxin regulation, sporulation, and colonization mechanisms. Her work has led to the development of engineered lactic acid bacteria that block pathogen adherence, currently undergoing pre-clinical evaluation.

Her 15 most recent publications reflect a strong focus on C. difficile biology, including virulence regulation, surface glycopolymers, diagnostic challenges, and therapeutic strategies. They also extend to related pathogens like enteropathogenic E. coli and the role of microbiota in inflammatory diseases, demonstrating a broad yet cohesive research trajectory in microbial pathogenesis and host defense.

Dr. Vedantam has received numerous honors, including:

• Research Career Scientist, US Department of Veterans Affairs (2017)
• CALS Research Faculty of the Year (2018)
• Vernon and Virginia Furrow Award for Basic Medical Sciences Teaching (2023)
• Women of Impact Award, University of Arizona (2023)
• American Society for Microbiology Woman-in-Science Award
• President, American Society for Microbiology Southwestern Regional Chapter (2013)

She is deeply committed to mentoring, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses such as Molecular Microbiology and Dissertation Research, and advising numerous students at the graduate level. She also serves on editorial boards of international journals and contributes to discussions on academic ethics and governance.

Dr. Vedantam leads active laboratories at both the University of Arizona and the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System, where her teams investigate microbial pathogenesis and develop novel anti-infective strategies. Her work bridges basic science and translational applications, aiming to reduce the burden of healthcare-associated infections through innovative, non-antibiotic solutions.