The superbug wars: Managing antibiotic-resistant infections

One of the great threats to global health is the rise of bacteria that are resistant to all of our current antibiotics, the so-called ‘superbugs’. Researchers from the University of Queensland are at the forefront of efforts to develop solutions to this important problem.

This talk will provide an overview of the threat that antibiotic resistance poses to human health – how it has arisen and what we can do to prevent a return to a ‘pre-antibiotic’ era. Examples of cutting-edge research from UQ laboratories, including the development of new antibiotic and immune-based alternatives to antibiotics, will shed light on international efforts aimed at preparing ourselves for the Superbug Wars.

Watch the recording

Recording of "The Superbug Wars - Managing Antibiotic-Resistant Infections" lecture (YouTube, 1h:10m:23s)

Meet the presenters

Dr Mark Blaskovich is an antibiotic hunter based at the Centre for Superbug Solutions in the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland. A medicinal chemist with 15 years of industrial drug development experience prior to his academic career, Mark has been developing new antibiotics to treat drug resistant pathogens and investigating the use of modified antibiotics to detect bacterial infections.

Prof Matt Sweet is an immunologist and cell biologist at the Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland. He studies cells of the immune system and their involvement in infectious and inflammatory diseases. Through manipulating the immune system so that it is better equipped to combat infectious diseases, Matt has been developing non-antibiotic alternatives for the treatment of drug-resistant bacterial infections.