microINTERACT

The antibiotic resistance crisis is a global health threat accounting for over 1 million deaths worldwide.  Yet, the development of new antibiotics and novel strategies has plummeted. Further, there is a the scarcity of studies taking into account ecological and evolutionary concepts and a lack of appropriate in vitro modelling of complex and 3D in-patient conditions. We posit that by harnessing microbial social interactions and organoid technology, we can develop rationally-designed antivirulence strategies to limit bacterial infection and spread of antibiotic resistance, whilst imposing less selective pressure for the emergence of resistance. The MicroINTERACT project combines computational approaches with experimental work in the fields of microbiology and cellular biology and places microbial social interactions at the core of biomedical research. microINTERACT will define new antivirulence strategies, whilst providing large opportunities for advances in our fundamental understanding of pathogen biology and derived infections.

Funding