BILLINGS — A Montana native and Montana State University Billings microbiologist is earning recognition for her work fighting diseases and the way she's shaping the next generation of scientists.
Dr. Madison Collins, a microbiologist at MSU Billings College of Health Professions and Science, has received two awards for her research into staph infections, a bacteria that can present as anything from a skin rash to a boil. Staph has also learned to resist the human immune system.
Watch Dr. Madison Collins talk about staph infections and research below:
In her lab, students study the same bacteria from different angles, each tackling a piece of a much larger puzzle.
"Why does a healthy person acquire a staph infection in the community, and why can't their immune system successfully clear it so that that person doesn't have a staph infection?" Collins said Tuesday.
David Russell, an instructor participating in the study, is at the center of that work. Russell said he found his passion the moment he began conducting research.
"The second I started doing research, I just loved it," Russell said.
His focus is on the proteins that may play a role in how staph infections survive and spread.
"What I'm exploring is specifically the proteins that may be responsible for mitigation and further on trying to figure out kind of how it's good at it," Russell said.
Russell described staph infections as fighting for survival much the way humans do.
"It's developing all these toxins and producing them to further enhance its own living situation," Russell said.
Collins' lab takes a multi-layered approach to understanding the bacteria, with students examining it at different biological levels.
"Some are looking at the DNA level, some are looking at the RNA level and the protein level or the whole cell," Collins said.
The research process is neither quick nor simple. Collins described the coordination required to keep experiments moving forward.
"Somebody needs to be growing the bacteria, somebody needs to be drawing the blood, isolating those immune cells, making sure they're pure," Collins said.
Results can take time, and patience is part of the lesson.
"Some students have to wait three days to get their results, which can be really devastating if you made a mistake, but that's part of the learning process. Some people get them instantaneously," Collins said.
For Russell, working under Collins has been a defining experience.
"Dr. Collins has been fantastic in helping us not only stay motivated, but also provide anything necessary to overcome any little hurdles we come across in the finickiness that is dealing with live human sample," Russell said.
The goal driving all of it is a future where staph infections can be stopped before they become resistant to treatment.
"One day we can actually come up with something to combat it that doesn't immediately become resistant," Russell said.
