About Us
Our long-term goal is to enhance current antimicrobial arsenal and further understanding of complex microbial communities. Our research program focuses on (i) the development and implementation of high- and low- throughput screening assays for the identification of novel small molecules with antimicrobial activity, (ii) the development and characterization of physiologically and industrially relevant multispecies in vitro biofilm models for the identification of potential drug targets, and (iii) the in vivo assessment of cytotoxicity and pharmacokinetics parameters and hypothesis-driven validation of antimicrobial drug targets for site colonization related to biofilm formation. This approach combines the benefits of physiologically and industrially relevant assays with a target validation approach superior to that typically encountered for either drug discovery screening or biofilm resistance studies.
Current work and collaborative research projects include (i) the investigation of the impact of biofilm structural features (i.e., porosity, diffusional distance, biomass, and biovolume) and physical fluid forces on the efficacy of known antimicrobial agents; (ii) the evaluation of potential antimicrobial challenge mechanisms as a strategy for in situ biofilm control; and (iii) the identification of novel chemical probes and microbial targets and development of novel drug delivery strategies in biofilm settings.