Development Of Novel Hybrid Antibiotics For The Treatment Of Hospital And Community Acquired Drug Resistant Gram-Negative And Gram-Postitive Bacterial Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$715,076.00
Summary
Drug resistant bacteria now pose a serious and growing threat to human health. Many bacteria have developed new resistance mechanisms such that most common antibiotics no longer can protect patients from serious, life-threatening infection. We will modify two existing antibiotics, colistin and carbapenem (a penicillin), to convert it into a more powerful antibiotic that targets resistant bacteria.
Can Malaria Parastie Resistance To An Important Drug Spread?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$689,168.00
Summary
Malaria is a major global health issue. Drugs are a key weapon against the disease, but resistance eventually emerges and spreads, rendering a succession of drugs useless. We have preliminary evidence that resistance to a safe and cheap drug is unable to spread. We believe drug resistant parasites die when attempting to transmit from person to person via the mosquito vector. Inability to spread resistance would make this drug extremely valuable in the fight against malaria.
Octapeptin-based Antibiotics Against Multi-drug Resistant Gram-negative Bacteria
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$767,504.00
Summary
Infectious disease is a leading cause of death, and the emergence of "superbugs" in the community and hospitals is of grave concern. We have resurrected a ‘forgotten’ antibiotic from the 1970s that kills superbugs causing pneumonia, skin and urinary track infections; diseases that cause death and discomfort for thousands of Australians today. We will determine how the original antibiotic works against superbugs, and use this information to design better drugs for the future.
New Antibiotics And Treatment Methods Against Drug-resistant Bacteria
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$766,468.00
Summary
Infectious disease is a leading cause of death, and the emergence of "superbugs" in the community and hospitals is of grave concern. We are developing new, powerful antibiotics that can kill superbugs using ‘forgotten’ drugs from the 1970s. These will combat bacteria that cause pneumonia, skin and urinary track infections; diseases that cause death and discomfort for thousands of Australians today. We will also develop methods to directly remove bacteria from blood infections.
Vancomycin Derivatives Active Against Resistant Bacterial Nosocomial Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$760,763.00
Summary
Bacterial infection is a leading cause of death worldwide and the emergence of superbugs that are resistant to multiple treatments is becoming a major global concern. Vancomycin is the drug of last resort for the treatment of hospital-acquired Gram -positive bacterial infections. We will synthetically modify vancomycin by incorporating naturally occurring membrane-associative peptides to produce novel antibiotics with multiple modes of action to avoid existing bacterial resistance mechanisms.
This Fellowship will enable research into the basis for life-threatening infection in the critically ill, including severe pneumonia, septic shock and the complexities of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, as well as the translation of this research into practice (including rapid diagnostics).