Project Reference: NGCM-0042

The development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a major problem for modern healthcare. A recent World Health Organization report stated: “resistance to common bacteria has reached alarming levels in many parts of the world and that in some settings, few, if any, of the available treatment options remain effective for common infections”. In other words the number of antibiotics that are still effective is quickly diminishing- new antibiotics are therefore urgently needed.

To design novel, effective and efficient antibiotics, it is imperative that we ask: (i) how do existing antibiotics work (ii) How can we weaken the membranes that protect bacteria

As a step towards addressing these questions, in this project we aim to simulate the process of antibacterial permeation through realistic models of bacterial membranes. Crucially, we shall adopt a multiscale approach in which fine-grained (atomistic-level) molecular dynamics simulations will be used to study specific interactions, and a more coarse-grained (molecular dynamics and dissipative particle dynamics) approach will be used to study larger, morphological behaviour. This project builds on our world-leading expertise in molecular modelling and simulation of bacterial membranes and includes collaboration with EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Syma Khalid Email: S.Khalid@soton.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 2380 594176.

This project is run through participation in the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Computational Modelling (http://ngcm.soton.ac.uk). 

For a details of available projects click here http://www.ngcm.soton.ac.uk/projects/index.html