My research aims to develop new therapies against multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens.
The human host has a large and diverse community of microbes that we call the human microbiota. The mammalian host benefits from these microbes. The interactions of a highly diverse microbial community and humans are affected by many aspects of modern world activities, especially antibiotics. Antibiotics do not distinguish between bad and good bacteria, and their use causes resistance against antibiotics by the bacteria. The call for true alternatives is more pressing than ever. Bacteriophage endolysins or lysins are highly evolved specific compounds that digest the bacterial host cell wall for phage progeny release, thereby killing the bacterium. I am currently working on the effect of phage-derived endolysins on gut microbial populations in order to develop new therapies against multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens.