Unlocking the Secrets of the Vaginal Microbiome
University of Arizona Health Sciences researcher Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, hopes to learn how the bacteria that live in the vagina help or harm gynecologic health.
Unanswered questions swirl around the microbiome — habitats in our bodies that diverse species of bacteria call home. Scientists are only just starting to scratch the surface of how these bacteria interact with our unique body chemistries to influence our health. One of those scientists is Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, associate professor of basic medical sciences and obstetrics/gynecology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, who says the riddles posed by the vaginal microbiome captivated her early in her career. Research coming out of her laboratory and labs across the world is pointing to similar conclusions: that there are “good” vaginal bacteria that are associated with health, and “bad” bacteria that are associated with gynecologic cancers, such as cervical cancer, endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer. From the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix, Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz leads a team of researchers who are working to better understand how to predict, prevent and treat these diseases.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, sterilizes her equipment before inoculating a broth with bacteria in her lab on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.
To clarify the link between vaginal bacteria and gynecologic cancer, Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, selects bacteria from a plate to grow in a broth for further study.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, examines vaginal bacteria in her lab on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. Her work might someday help prevent, predict or treat cervical cancer, endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer.
Paweł Łaniewski, PhD, at work as an assistant research scientist in the Herbst-Kralovetz Lab.
Paweł Łaniewski, PhD, department of Basic Medical Sciences for the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, shows off his school spirit in the form of bacteria on a plate.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, is the director of the Women’s Health Microbiome Initiative at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, with samples that may unlock some clues about vaginal health and gynecologic cancer.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, discusses research findings with Michael Khnanisho, a member of her research team at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and premed student at Arizona State University.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, checks in with a team member studying the vaginal microbiome.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, with her team inside the lab at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.
The Herbst-Kralovetz Lab makes its home on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. Paweł Łaniewski, PhD, center, and Elisa Martinez, right, work to find the link between the vaginal microbiome and gynecologic cancer.
Postdoctoral fellow Jason Maarsingh, PhD (foreground), and undergraduate Mary Salliss work to find the link between the vaginal microbiome and gynecologic cancer.
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, analyzes PCR data that she hopes will lead to a better understanding of how an optimal vaginal microbiome might protect health and guard against gynecologic cancers.
Drs. Herbst-Kralovetz and Łaniewski select cells preserved through cryopreservation, a technique that can freeze cells without damaging them.
Paweł Łaniewski, PhD, selects cells preserved through cryopreservation. These cells might help establish a link between the vaginal microbiome and susceptibility to gynecologic cancers.
Drs. Herbst-Kralovetz and Łaniewski select cells preserved through cryopreservation. After they are thawed, the cells will be used to create 3D human models of the reproductive tract to shed light on how bacteria interact with the human body.