Once treatable infections are becoming deadly because bacteria are developing broad antibiotic resistance. New medicines are urgently needed. Microbes themselves are the richest known source of new antibiotics but finding the 'good bugs' is like finding a needle in a microbial haystack. This project will use state-of-the art science to screen a previously overlooked source of rich microbial biodiversity and find new antibiotics.
Understanding The Disease Burden And Antibiotic Resistance In Patients With Bloodstream Infections Caused By Enterobacteriaceae In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$135,285.00
Summary
This study aims to establish the epidemiology of bloodstream infections caused by Enterobacteriaceae (enteric or gut bacteria) in Australia, by examining infection rates, types of antibiotic resistance present, and which treatments optimise clinical outcomes.
This project uses latest genomic technologies to advance our understanding of how bacteria cause disease and finding new antibiotics/approaches to stop the spread of multi-drug resistant hospital superbugs.
Interactions Between Integrative Genomic Islands And Plasmids; Role In The Spread And Loss Of Antibiotic Resistance And Pathogenicity Determinants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$776,465.00
Summary
Mobile elements that integrate into bacterial chromosomes at a specific site contribute pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance determinants to their bacterial host but only a few are able to move themselves into new hosts. Some plasmids and some elements can help certain others. In this project, genetic approaches will be used to investigate how plasmids and integrative elements help one another move into a new bacterium or compete with one another to stay in the same cell.
Interactions Between Host And The Gut Microbiome In The Pathogenesis Of Ankylosing Spondylitis And Crohn's Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$572,227.00
Summary
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and Crohn's disease (CD) are common immune-mediated diseases affecting primarily the joints of the spine and the gut respectively. Genes play a major role in determining the risk of each disease, and it is likely that those genes cause the disease by interaction with some environmental factor, most likely bacteria residing in the gut. This study aims to test that hypothesis by profiling the bacteria in the gut of patients with the diseases and healthy subjects.
Eradication Of High-risk Bacterial Clones Using Bacteriophages
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$685,070.00
Summary
Nature offers remedies to the spread of dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria in the form of predatory viruses (bacteriophages). In this project, we will define optimal mixtures of these for killing problem bacterial types, the mechanisms by which bacterial resistance develops, the best approach to identifying susceptible bacteria and to using these viruses to eradicate them, and we will test a carefully optimised bacteriophage therapy in humans colonised by the dangerous E. coli ST131 strain.
Genomic Approaches To Understand And Control The Emergence Of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus Faecium (VREfm) In Australia.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$756,163.00
Summary
VRE is a serious hospital superbug that has been increasing in many major hospitals around Australia, while at the same time MRSA (Golden Staph) infections have been decreasing. This project will find out why VRE is increasing by examining what happens to patients at a major Australian hospital from their time of admission to the onset of infection with VRE. At the end of the project we will have the first real understanding of how VRE is transmitted so we can develop effective infection control ....VRE is a serious hospital superbug that has been increasing in many major hospitals around Australia, while at the same time MRSA (Golden Staph) infections have been decreasing. This project will find out why VRE is increasing by examining what happens to patients at a major Australian hospital from their time of admission to the onset of infection with VRE. At the end of the project we will have the first real understanding of how VRE is transmitted so we can develop effective infection control measures.Read moreRead less
Anti-sporulation Strategies For Clostridium Difficile Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$651,559.00
Summary
Hospital-acquired infections with the bacterium Clostridium difficile are a major global public health concern with highly virulent isolates emerging overseas in 2002 and in Australia in 2010. These strains have spread through our hospitals and are also found in the community. This project will increase our understanding of how these strains spread and will provide knowledge that is critical for developing improved strategies for preventing these infections.
Pacing Across The Membrane: Characterising The PACE Family Of Multidrug Efflux Systems
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$640,815.00
Summary
The World Health Organisation recognises bacterial antimicrobial resistance as one of the major threats to human health worldwide. Multidrug efflux pumps are an important class of resistance proteins that sit in the bacterial cell membrane and move antimicrobials out of the cell. We recently discovered the first new family of multidrug efflux pumps to be described in 15 years. Our project will define the precise resistance functions of this family and identify ways to block their function.
An Ace Up Their Sleeve: Characterisation Of A Novel Family Of Drug Efflux Systems Represented By The Acinetobacter AceI Exporter
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,286.00
Summary
Chlorhexidine is widely used as an antiseptic in products such as skin washes, soaps, mouthwashes, disinfectants and preservatives. We have recently discovered a novel bacterial protein which pumps chlorhexidine out of bacterial cells to make them resistant to this antiseptic agent. This proposal aims to understand this resistance mechanism and to find inhibitors which could be applied in clinical settings to augment the activity of chlorhexidine.