IMPACTFUL RESEARCH
OPEYEMI AWOLOPE
Identifying Novel Antibiotics
Addressing the global problem of antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has previously been described as a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO). AMR is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics) from working against it. As a result, standard treatments are becoming ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.
Opeyemi Awolope, a research student at RGU’s School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, is hoping to identify novel antibiotics to combat the resistance that has emerged, causing infectious diseases.
explained. “When we use antibiotics, some bacteria die but resistant bacteria can survive and even multiply. The overuse of antibiotics makes resistant bacteria more common.
Opeyemi, who is also a practicing pharmacist, was drawn to the subject because of the global effort in the industry to combat antimicrobial resistance with new drugs, as well as the multidisciplinary nature of the project.
“It may come as a surprise, but up to 70% of all antibiotics in clinical use are derived from bacteria. Several bacterial species produce antimicrobial substances active against other microbes in their environment to gain competitive advantage – it’s a dog-eat-dog world!
“Antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally but it is facilitated by the inappropriate use of medicines, for example, using antibiotics for viral infections such as the cold or flu, or sharing antibiotics,” she 14
“Scientists have exploited this to develop clinically useful antibiotics. However, the task of identifying bacterial strains that are likely to produce novel antibiotics has
