The imperial genesis of the Indian and British relationship
Lucy student, Anjeli Chapman, talks about her findings from the analysis of Victorian satirical magazines.
Lucy student, Caroline Zellmer, shares her fascinating research on antimicrobial resistance in bacteria.
Caroline is a PhD student at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease. In her undergraduate degree, Caroline studied the impact of faecal transplantation in patients with C. difficile infection (a drug-resistant infection common in US hospitals). She then moved to the US National Institutes of Health where she studied the human and environmental microbiome and characterised a novel human pathogen that had previously never been identified to be lethal in humans. From there, Caroline moved to Boston where she worked across MIT and a small biotech on a Gates Foundation funded program to develop microbiome derived and targeted therapies for malnutrition and diarrhoea disease.
Caroline submitted a blog entry about her research for the 2022 College Research Day Blog Competition, you can read it below.
Multimodal Characterisation of Klebsiella for Therapeutic Development
By Caroline Zellmer
What is your research about?
I study antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria. AMR is a growing, unmitigated problem that is estimated to kill more people than cancer by 2050. It is a challenge that spans human, animal and environmental health and sustainability efforts. In my research, I study how the behaviour and shape of bacteria (phenotype) influences bacterial susceptibility to antimicrobials. Gaining this understanding will support efforts to design new antimicrobials that can fill a treatment gap, as there is currently a paucity of available therapeutic options for AMR bacteria.
Can you describe your research in one sentence?
I use high content imaging and complementary in vivo and in vitro model systems to understand the behaviour of highly drug-resistant bacteria under many different conditions to develop new antimicrobials that can be alternatives to antibiotics.
Does your research relate to any of the UN Sustainable Development Goals?
My research relates to the UN SDG good health and well-being. Without new therapeutic approaches to mitigate AMR bacteria, we will be lacking any treatment options for drug-resistant infections, as in many parts of the world there are already entirely antibiotic resistant pathogens.
Why is this research interesting to you?
We are more bacteria than human, and coexist with microorganisms in every aspect of our lives. These incredible organisms continue to surprise me with their unending ability to adapt and change in the face of new environments and challenges. As is the case for the commensal (bacteria that are good for us or do not harm us) and for the pathogens (bacteria that can make us sick). In the quest to characterise and understand bacteria I really enjoy engaging with colleagues and experts from around the world who are studying various aspects of this field of study.
