Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria no longer respond to antibiotics that used to work against them. It is a global challenge and one of the most pressing health issues we face. It has been dubbed the silent pandemic because its effects are worldwide and under-appreciated.
Most bacteria become resistant to antibiotics by acquiring genes, strips of DNA, from other bacteria. These genes mostly originate in bacteria found in the environment (water, soils) that don’t infect humans for the most part and make their way to bacteria that do infect humans. So far, there has been no good solution to identify these genes before they make their way to these human pathogens. Our project aims to identify novel resistance genes in different environmental samples before they get transferred to human pathogens to implement steps to prevent these transfers from occurring. To achieve these aims, we use a combination of sampling and analyzing environmental samples, including laboratory work, computer software and artificial intelligence.
Our team includes researchers as well as people whose role is to develop policies to tackle antibiotic resistance. Together, we believe we can develop solutions and policies that can help address the problem of antibiotic resistance.