Student work: New approaches to antibiotic resistance

By Jonathan Robinson, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering on Aug. 10, 2015, 11:54 a.m.

In this submission for the Emerging Alumni Scholars Award, graduate student Jonathan Robinson explains his dissertation research, which involves developing mathematical models of chemical reaction networks within bacteria, and using them to aid in the design of novel therapeutics.

As public health officials sound the alarm about the global spread of drug-resistant bacteria, researchers are working to develop more effective antibiotics to counter this dangerous trend. Now, results from a team including a Princeton University scientist offer a possible solution that uses the bacteria's own byproducts to destroy them.

Innovation funds awarded to support natural sciences, humanities projects and industry collaborations .

Seven innovative projects have been selected to receive Princeton University's Dean for Research innovation funds, which, now in their second year, enable faculty members to pursue bold new ideas.

'Focused Research Teams' take on emerging opportunities in biotechnology and robotics .

In an initiative to boost collaborations on subjects too new to fit into existing departments and centers, the School of Engineering and Applied Science has created a program to fund small, cross-disciplinary groups of researchers called Focused Research Teams.

Princeton awarded $27 million in Recovery Act funding .

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Princeton University has received $27 million in research funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Princeton researchers listen in on the chemical conversation of the human microbiome .

Princeton researchers have developed new computational and experimental tools to identify microbial small molecules encoded in clinical samples, allowing scientists to explore microbial-host interactions and to mine the human microbiome for drug discovery.

Unique sense of 'touch' gives a prolific bacterium its ability to infect anything .

A study led by Princeton University researchers found that one of the world's most prolific bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, manages to afflict humans, animals and even plants by way of a mechanism not before seen in any infectious microorganism — a sense of touch.

New Princeton spinout will bring 'poisoned arrow' antibiotic and other new medicines to the market .

Funding will advance discovery of novel antibiotics addressing antimicrobial resistance.