Dr Matt Johansen from the Centenary UTS Centre for Inflammation has been interviewed by Carl Smith, journalist from the ABC Science Show.
Discussed was Dr Johansen’s latest research that found that bacteriophages (a virus that infects bacteria) was able to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria.
“Mycobacterium abscessus has recently emerged as a significant pathogen causing severe lung diseases,” said Dr Johansen.
“It is resistant to many antibiotics and is difficult to treat with cure rates of less than 50%.”
“Using zebrafish as a model, we showed that bacteriophages worked remarkably well in combination with antimicrobial drugs in reducing M. abscessus infection, reducing signs of disease and improving survival.”
“Our research suggests that bacteriophages could be a promising path forward for treating drug-resistant bacteria in the clinic.”
Dr Johansen was the most recent recipient of the Kenyon Foundation Inflammation Award, a philanthropically funded prize to help kick-start research focusing on cancer and inflammation by early career researchers at the Centenary Institute.