More than £2 million has been awarded to Dundee University to help its renowned researchers lead the fight against superbugs.
A team from the School of Life Sciences has been challenged to help combat antimicrobial resistance, which is one of the greatest health problems facing the world today.
They will also be working to create a new generation of antibiotics to combat many common diseases, together with potentially life-threatening bugs such as MRSA.
Dr Helge Dorfmueller, from the Division of Molecular Microbiology, has been awarded a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship, which brings a grant of over £1.1 million over five years.
Dr Dorfmueller’s project will address the study of the important human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes, which can cause common infections such as tonsillitis.
He said: “Importantly, mild infections can develop into life-threating diseases and current antibiotics are not sufficient to eradicate all mild and severe infections.
“Studies will help us to identify points of vulnerability and form the foundation for future antibacterial drug development, to protect us humans from severe streptococcal infections.”
The second tranche of funding – a £1.2 million Wellcome Trust Investigator Award – will be used by Professor Tracy Palmer, Head of the Division of Molecular Microbiology, to examine protein secretion systems and their role in infection.
She said: “We will be examining substrates of a Staphylococcus aureus protein secretion system, which is found in MRSA strains and is known to be involved in causing persistent infectionr.
“My lab will be working with the Drug Discovery Unit at the university to develop inhibitors to act against these proteins and reduce their capability to cause infection.”
