CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia School of Medicine has developed a possible solution for the growing antibiotic resistance problem.
While modern antibiotics kill bacteria indiscriminately, UVA researchers have developed a new approach that would limit how often bacteria are exposed to antibiotics. This could result in dangerous bacteria becoming less resistant to the medicine. This could allow doctors to prescribe antibiotics that target specific bacteria that cause a specific problem in a specific area of the body.
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“Many biomedical challenges are incredibly complex, and computer models are emerging as a powerful tool for tackling such problems. We’re hopeful that these computer models of the molecular networks in bacteria will help us develop new strategies to treat infections.”
Jason Papin, PhD, of UVA’s Department of Biomedical Engineering
The creation of computer models of every human bacterial pathogen have made this research possible, along with the help from Jason Papin, PhD, of UVA’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, one of Jason’s PhD students Emma Glass, Andrew Warren, PhD, of UVA’s Biocomplexity Institute, and many others.
“Using our computer models we found that the bacteria living in the stomach had unique properties. These properties can be used to guide design of targeted antibiotics, which could hopefully one day slow the emergence of resistant infections.”
PhD student Emma Glass
This research could not only help develop new antibiotics, but also decrease the need for broad-spectrum antibiotics.
“We still have much to do to test these ideas for other bacteria and types of infections, but this work shows the incredible promise of data science and computer modeling for tackling some of the most important problems in biomedical research.”
Jason Papin, PhD, of UVA’s Department of Biomedical Engineering
Papin and his team have found that they could stunt the growth of harmful stomach bacteria in these lab experiments.