Western diet may increase risk of severe sepsis

The study, appearing in the Feb. 11 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, takes a closer look at how the Western diet affects the severity and outcome of sepsis. Sepsis, the body's reaction to fighting an infection, can lead to shock and organ failure. It's the 11th most common cause of death worldwide.

Brooke Napier, an assistant biology professor at PSU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, conducted the study as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Denise Monack, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine and the senior author of the study. Napier brought the project with her when she came to PSU and continues to build on the findings in her research lab.