New bacterium named in honor of Fred Hutch First organism named after research center linked to bacterial vaginosis, higher HIV risk February 24, 2021 • By Susan Keown / Fred Hutch News Service An electron microscope image of Megasphaera hutchinsoni, recently given its official name by researchers at Fred Hutch and their colleagues in Pittsburgh and Boston. The bacterium is associated with bacterial vaginosis, and women who have it are at greater risk of acquiring HIV. The scientists named it after Fred Hutch, where it was isolated, and in honor of the center’s HIV research. Image created by the Fredricks Lab's Susan Strenk and Tina Fiedler in the Fred Hutch Cellular Imaging shared resource with the assistance of electron microscopy specialists Steve MacFarlane and Bobbie Schneider.