Antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest threats facing humankind. In 2019, AMR infections were associated with ~5M deaths, and directly responsible for more deaths (1.27M) than malaria, HIV or breast cancer that year. In recent years, large-scale efforts to identify novel bacterial protein targets have not been successful in delivering novel antimicrobials that are structurally and mechanistically distinct from existing antibiotics. We need a new strategy.
Bacteria produce a plethora of glycopolymers and glycoproteins that are essential to their survival, and not found in humans. This includes peptidoglycan, teichoic acids, lipopolysaccharide, capsular polysaccharide, colanic acid, and glycosylated proteins. Remarkably, the biosynthesis of all of these glycopolymers starts with a common, membrane-bound precursor, undecaprenyl phosphate. Carbohydrate head groups are loaded on to this membrane anchor and presented on the surface of the cell membrane. These glycolipids, and the enzymes that process them, represent a rich source of novel antimicrobial targets. However, this source has been largely untapped because we lack the tools needed to fully exploit it.
As part of Horizon Europe Guarantee ERC Starting Grant NEW HOPE (https://www.qub.ac.uk/News/Allnews/featured-research/funding-new-antibiotics.html), the Cochrane Lab are recruiting a PhD student to discover and create new antibiotics that can overcome antimicrobial resistance. These highly interdisciplinary projects will include natural product isolation, the chemical synthesis of glycolipids and chemically labelled probes, enzymatic assays and high-throughput screening assays.
PhD students will start in October 2024. Due to funding restrictions, only residents (three years) of Northern Ireland, those from the UK that hold a British passport, EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme with settled or pre-settled status, or ROI nationals resident in ROI, are eligible for funding. Funding is available for 3 years, with extension to a 4th year possible.
For more information please contact: Dr Stephen Cochrane ([Email Address Removed]).
Applications must be submitted online, by the deadline, using the QUB Direct Application Portal https://dap.qub.ac.uk/portal/user/u_login.php
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