Tuesday, November 16, 2010
On November 16, 2010, the University of British Columbia Life Sciences Institute (LSI) hosted the fifth LSI Café Scientifique at the Cafe Perugia. Over 56 interested community members, students and faculty gathered for an informal and participatory dialogue with experts on the topic of “What can be done about antibiotic resistance?”
The Café featured members of the Bacterial Adaptation & Response Networks (BARN) and Chemical Biology of Disease (CBD) Research Groups who are studying and investigating how bacteria adapt and respond to their environment. The interactive session was presented by Dr. Julian Davies and Dr. Erin Gaynor of Department of Microbiology & Immunology. An additional presentation was given by Dr. Linda Hoang, Medical Microbiologist, Program Head of Bacteriology & Mycology at the BC Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Microbiology & Reference Laboratory of Provincial Health Services Authority.
Antibiotics have been successful in curing many infectious diseases over the past 60 years. However, antibiotic resistance is increasing rapidly and there is concern that we are approaching the end of the era of antibiotic effectiveness. This impacts all bacterial diseases, from deadly infection caused by MRSA and tuberculosis to serious illness you can acquire from common foods. Drs. Davies and Gaynor highlighted and answered questions concerning the rise in multi-antibiotic resistance in recent times and the mechanisms of resistance.
Dr. Gaynor discussed the problem of human infection by Campylobacter carried in chickens and how this impacts human health, as well as tracking resistance and improving public education. Dr. Hoang gave a brief overview of how bacteria are recovered from patient samples, how susceptibility profiles are generated from the methods in place and presented a summary of provincial findings.
Two mounted photomicrographs, entitled “StreptoArt” and “Planet Microbe” were supplied by Dr. Davies of the CBD Research Group, were given away as door prizes to two members of the audience. Dr. William Mohn, Professor of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, BARN Research Group Leader, served as moderator.
The LSI Café Scientifique is co-sponsored by the Life Sciences Institute (LSI), CIHR, MSFHR, Faculty of Medicine Research Office, and Café Perugia (UBC Food Services).
