New antibiotics from old bacteria
- Research Opportunity
- PhD students, Masters by Research, Honours students
- Number of Honour Places Available
- 1
- Number of Master Places Available
- 1
- Department / Centre
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Location
- Doherty Institute
Primary Supervisor | Number | Webpage | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr Sacha Pidot | sacha.pidot@unimelb.edu.au | 9035 3129 | Personal web page |
Co-supervisor | Number | Webpage | |
---|---|---|---|
Professor Tim Stinear | tstinear@unimelb.edu.au | 8344 5693 | Personal web page |
Summary This project will investigate the antibacterial activity of a diverse collection of 700 human pathogenic Actinobacteria held by our state microbiology reference laboratory, with the ultimate aim to identify new antimicrobials that can inhibit hospital superbugs, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. A combination of techniques will be used in this project, including genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry and mass spectrometry, to identify new antibiotics produced by this collection of bacteria.
Project Details
Development of new antibiotics is key to addressing the crisis in human health caused by the rise of multidrug resistant superbugs. Traditionally, soil-derived Actinobacteria, particularly the genus Streptomyces, are the most prolific antibiotic producers, however, high re-discovery rates of known compounds demand the testing of new reservoirs of biodiversity and bioactive molecules. Human-associated bacteria, including pathogenic bacteria, are a previously untapped source of antimicrobial diversity. This project will investigate the antibacterial activity of a diverse collection of 700 human pathogenic Actinobacteria held by our state microbiology reference laboratory, with the ultimate aim to identify new antimicrobials that can inhibit hospital superbugs, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. A combination of techniques will be used in this project, including genomics, molecular biology, biochemistry and mass spectrometry, to identify new antibiotics produced by this collection of bacteria. Students will develop a broad range of skills in each of these areas and will use these to increase the antimicrobial drug discovery pipeline.
Faculty Research Themes
School Research Themes
Research Opportunities
PhD students, Masters by Research, Honours students
Students who are interested in joining this project will need to consider their elegibility as well as other requirements before contacting the supervisor of this research
Key Contact
For further information about this research, please contact a supervisor.
Department / Centre
Research Node
Doherty InstituteMDHS Research library
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