John Vitucci Email & Phone Number

Currently, my work in the Combat Wounds Infection Division has granted me a dynamic environment and multiple different preclinical projects. This work has included leading studies to elucidate an optimal formulation, dosing concentration and regimen for a cocktail of antibodies against S. aureus induced sepsis. Additionally, I am a Principal Investigator on a self-written grant that will test antimicrobials and delivery systems against conditions experienced by submariners and medevac’d soldiers. Also, I have designed, implemented, and optimized new in vitro and in vivo models to evaluate immunomodulatory effects of a compound and its role in disease development or prevention, better develop targeted delivery systems against chronic infections, and expand our ability to test antimicrobials against septicemia for use in the military and general population. Previously, in my postdoctoral position, I expanded my skill set to become a more experienced scientist. I had the opportunity to design and execute studies utilizing florescent and confocal microscopy to study gonococcal (GC) biofilm formation, and the importance the Opa protein contributes to this formation. I have also had the opportunity to design and execute studies designing and manipulating plasmid vectors to create GC variants that express a singular opa protein.During my doctoral research, I gained comprehensive training in the areas of microbiology and infectious disease. including in vivo experience designing, refining, and manipulating both mice and hamster C. difficile disease models. This included the design of a mouse survival and a hamster LD50 model for C. difficile. Though multidisciplinary collaboration with the school of public health, I was also able to study the distribution C. difficile clinical isolate ribotypes in Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as an encompassing radius. Lastly, I gained valuable experience in microbial genetics where I was responsible for the isolation and sequencing of 13 C. difficile isolates of various ribotypes for future studies. I also gained valuable research experience with Preclinical Services, a contract research organization. Working alongside this group allowed me to work under GLP conditions, with multiple bacteria that my doctoral studies did not focus on, and gain experience in additional techniques to study these different microbes. Additionally, I was able to collaborate with multiple laboratories on studies including C. difficile influence on the microbiome and genomic sequencing of C. difficile to compare genomes of various ribotypes.