Grant: Project Grant

The multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii has gained global attention as an important clinical problem. Owing to its resistance to front-line antibiotic therapies, its ability to survive on hospital surfaces for long periods of time, and its ability to infect diverse tissues in the human body, Acinetobacter has become a successful hospital pathogen, accounting for up to 10% of nosocomial bacterial infections. Acinetobacter baumannii has been highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO), Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) as a pathogen in urgent need of attention by the research community. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying infection. We will use cell biological, molecular genetic, and biochemical techniques to study Acinetobacter's life cycle in respiratory tract cells, and the strategies it uses to evade immune responses in host cells. This research will provide new insight into the virulence strategies of this important clinical pathogen, and important clues as to how we can target it therapeutically.