A University of Dundee researcher, Dr Megan Bergkessel, has been awarded over £900k in funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to research how some bacteria can survive in inhospitable environments and the potential for new treatments. The funding is part of a package of £12million of UK government funding awarded to Scotland’s most promising scientists to turn novel science innovations into a reality.
The research will inform new treatments for chronic bacterial infections which are difficult to treat and can be fatal.
Dr Bergkessel says, “My research seeks to understand how bacteria control their activities under conditions where they lack sufficient food or energy to grow. We think they commonly encounter these kinds of conditions in the natural world, including when they are causing infections. Importantly, they are able to survive exposure to antibiotics whenever they are not growing, because antibiotics target the processes they use to grow and divide.
