Our Research
For nearly a century, human medicine has relied on conventional antibiotics to treat microbial infections. However, since the discovery of penicillin, pathogenic microbes have continually evolved resistance, outpacing the development of new drug classes. With the most recent commercial class of antibiotics discovered decades ago, antimicrobial resistance remains a critical global threat. This challenge demands alternative strategies for drug discovery.
The Alternative Antibiotics stream investigates biologically derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as a promising frontier against resistant pathogens. Utilizing engineered E. coli systems and methods such as SICLOPPS, students synthesize and screen vast, randomized peptide libraries using accessible microbiological tools. These versatile peptides offer customization potential against a wide spectrum of target organisms, including bacterial, fungal, and parasitic models.
Our research efforts include:
- Generating diverse antimicrobial peptide libraries through biological synthesis methods
- Screening peptide candidates for toxicity against key model organisms
- Characterizing and optimizing hit peptides based on their specific molecular targets
- Submitting fully synthesized peptide libraries to public databases to support global drug discovery
Our Strategy
Students take direct ownership of their research from day one by engineering unique AMP libraries and directing their screening applications. After mastering library generation, researchers select a model organism aligned with their interests, such as using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a stand-in to model tuberculosis therapeutics, to evaluate efficacy and explore basic microbial differences.
Alternative Antibiotics researchers learn how to:
- Design primers, perform PCR, and execute molecular cloning techniques
- Prepare specialized media, balance buffers, and apply flawless aseptic culturing techniques
- Cultivate and maintain diverse bacterial species and model organisms
- Screen peptide libraries for antimicrobial activity and analyze functional data
- Develop transferrable problem-solving, collaboration, and laboratory skills for STEM careers
Our Impact
By shifting away from traditional synthetic drug pipelines, this research validates cost-effective, biological platforms for generating novel antimicrobial leads. Systematically screening peptide libraries against diverse model organisms produces open-access datasets and potential candidates to combat multi-drug-resistant pathogens worldwide.
Our Team
Ken Keiler
- Professor
Resources
Course Credit
Research Outcomes
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