Dr. Carmen Aguilar

University of Würzburg
D-97080 Würzburg

Tel.: 0931 31-88028

E-mail: carmen.aguilar@uni-wuerzburg.de
Web: https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/imib/forschung/aguilar/

Research area:
Urinary tract infections, urogenital organoids, host-pathogen interactions, persisters

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) stand out as among the most widespread bacterial infections globally, establishing them as a significant reason for antibiotic prescriptions in primary care. Currently, treatments heavily rely on antibiotics, not only contributing to the rise of antimicrobial resistance but also falling short in effectively managing recurring infections. Despite ongoing efforts to develop new antimicrobial approaches, options for treating recurrent infections remain quite limited, primarily due to our incomplete understanding of these persistent infections. Research in the Aguilar Lab is focuused on advancing in vitro urogenital models to study these infections. By utilizing bladder and prostate organoids together with cutting-edge technologies such as scRNA-seq and CRISPR technology, we aim to enhance our understanding of the host-pathogen interplay that occurs, with the ultimate goal of identifying key host factors and pathways controlling these infections.