Newswise — PHILADELPHIA — The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has been awarded more than $1 million by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop new approaches to combat antibiotic resistance. Penn researchers will lead three separate projects to support CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative. The awards are part of a larger Broad-Based Announcement (BAA) from CDC providing a total of more than $14 million in funding for 34 projects focused on understanding the role of the microbiome in order prevent antibiotic resistance infections, also known as superbugs.
Antibiotics are life-saving medicines, but they also can disrupt a person’s microbiome and increase the risk for drug-resistant infections such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). Patients carrying drug-resistant bacteria can easily spread these to other people, especially those who also have an abnormal microbiome, such as patients with compromised immune systems.
Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, MSCE, chief of the division of Infectious Diseases, will lead one research initiative focused on the reduction of in-hospital antimicrobial use to prevent C. difficile infection. Brendan Kelly, MD, MSCE, an instructor in the division of Infectious Diseases, will lead two additional research projects, one related to C. difficile colonization and infection and another focused on antibiotic-resistant lower respiratory infections during long-term acute care.
“Antibiotic-resistant infections are quickly becoming one of biggest challenges in modern medicine,” Lautenbach said. “Almost 700,000 people die from superbug infections each year and that number is only growing. With these new research grants, we aim to learn more about how these micro-organisms evolve so we can develop long-term solutions to prevent them.”
This award comes on the heels of a recent United Nations declaration calling for a global commitment to fight antibiotic-resistant infections worldwide. On September 21, all 193 UN member states pledged to increase international coordination and funding aimed at monitoring the emergence of antimicrobial resistance and reducing the misuse of antimicrobial agents.
“By studying the microbiome of patients at risk for antibiotic-resistant infections, we seek to better understand how these infections occur and how they can be prevented,” Kelly said. “We hope that our research will help advance the global effort to prevent these life-threatening infections.”
Penn, in partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), is also one of only 10 academic medical centers to be designated as a CDC Prevention Epicenter, a patient safety research effort known as the Prevention Epicenters Program, which was created in 1997 to address the emerging problem of health care-associated infections, including antibiotic resistance. # # #Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $5.3 billion enterprise.The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 18 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $373 million awarded in the 2015 fiscal year.The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation’s top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Chestnut Hill Hospital and Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2015, Penn Medicine provided $253.3 million to benefit our community.
RSS