Persister Cells

Persisters are bacterial cells able to survive killing by antibiotics. This antibiotic tolerance is mechanistically distinct from resistance. Persisters are not mutants but phenotypic variants.

We are interested in genetic mechanism(s) underlying formation of persister fraction within genetically identical antibiotic-susceptible population of bacteria. Understanding these mechanisms is important in order to get a complete and realistic picture of pathogens during the infection and antibiotic treatement, especially in the case of chronic and relapsing infections. (more)

Drug Discovery

There are several formidable challenges in antimicrobial drug discovery that make this field intellectually appealing. First, there is an “innovation gap” – no new broad-spectrum class of antibiotics has been discovered in the past 40 years. Moreover no antibiotic has ever been able to completely sterilize an infection due to the presence of persisters cells. (more)

Unculturables

The Unculturables Group in the Antimicrobial Discovery Center at Northeastern University is focused on growing previously unculturable microorganisms, and identifying the molecular mechanisms responsible for uncultivability. Our work is based on the observation that the vast majority of microorganisms isolated from the environment do not grow in the lab, and are only known by there molecular signatures. This has dramatically limited the fraction of the microbial world that is available for study, and our goal is to gain access to the genetic and biochemical diversity that has been hidden by uncultivability. (more)

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis bacilli are highly resistant to killing in-vivo, even to regiments that seem to be highly effective in-vitro. Several models have been developed to try and mimic the in-vivo conditions, which produce the highly tolerant bacteria. These include microaerophilic environment, long-term stationary state and extended starvation. (more)