08/20/12 jgm

HAYS, Kan -- The MRSA bacteria is the subject of a free public seminar by Dr. Lance Thurlow, sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences on the Fort Hays State University campus, beginning at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22, in Albertson Hall, room 169.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly referred to as MRSA, is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics. "Staphylococcus Aureus and the Inflammation Paradox" explores the bacteria's characteristics, how it causes infections and the body's response to an infection.

"The seminar is about the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and how it causes disease," said Dr. Eric Gillock, associate professor of biological sciences. "This is the microbe that most people recognize as MRSA, which has gotten a lot of attention in the news during the past few years."

Thurlow is a graduate of FHSU, where he earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in 2002 and 2005. He now works in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Thurlow's current work seeks to understand the specific characteristics of the microbe that allow it to cause such severe, potentially life-threatening infections, and how the body's immune system responds in trying to fight it off.

"I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for our current students to see what kinds of things they can do with a degree from FHSU," said Gillock.

The public is invited.

For more information or to speak with Thurlow, contact Gillock at 785-628-5324 or egillock@fhsu.edu.

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