Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Salmonella is a common food-borne bacteria that causes over 10 million annual infections worldwide. Most Salmonella infections affect the gut and result in symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, and fever, which typically resolve without requiring antibiotics. However, despite offering little benefit, antibiotics are often used in low- and middle-income countries to treat Salmonella. Unfortunately, this widespread antibiotic use has led to an increase in Salmonella strains resistant to antibiotic treatments, placing it on the WHO 2024 High-Priority Pathogens List. To combat this rising threat, new non-antibiotic treatments are urgently needed. Our lab discovered that a group of 33 good bacteria, called MET-1, protected mice against Salmonella infections. However, we are unsure how MET-1 works and if all 33 bacteria are necessary for this protection. To address these questions, we will treat mice with MET-1 and identify which bacteria stay in the gut after treatment, suggesting they have a key role in the protection. We will make a smaller community using just these key bacteria and test if they still protect against Salmonella. Then, we will test if substances produced by this smaller community of key bacteria can also protect against Salmonella. This approach will help us to determine which good bacteria in MET-1 are involved in protection and whether it is something they produce that is responsible. Our lab has successfully used this method to create a new non-antibiotic treatment for Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), another gut infection. Now, we aim to use similar methods to develop a safe, cheap, and sustainable non-antibiotic treatment for Salmonella, which will reduce the use of antibiotics and fight against antibiotic resistance.