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Final-year student Richard Morter appears on University radio programme Oxford College Castaway.
Final-year IITM student Richard Morter appeared as a guest on the latest episode of Oxford College Castaway, a programme on the University radio station Oxide Radio.
The show takes its inspiration from the longstanding BBC Radio 4 series Desert Island Disks. During the hour-long interview Richard talks through some current topics in malaria and global health, as well as describing some of his own research on malaria vaccines. He also discusses life in research and in Oxford more generally.
Richard with host Alice Watson
In the spirit of Desert Island Disks, he also chooses some of his favourite tracks which are played throughout the interview.
Take a listen below!
You can also find all the previous episodes of Oxford College Castaway, here.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Developing Antibiotics
Hannah Behrens explains her DPhil research. This article was originally published on the St Edmund Hall MCR website.
Although first discovered in 1928, it was only during the Second World War that Penicillin was developed into a drug that could cure people of bacterial diseases. This started the “antibiotic era” and is considered to be one of the most important medical discoveries of the twentieth century. Antibiotics have since been saving us from otherwise fatal bacterial diseases.
Today, nearly a century later, on the same street where penicillin was first mass-produced, another significant step in the development of antimicrobial drugs is taking place: bacteriocins antibiotics.
Over the years, extensive (ab)use of antibiotics led to bacterial resistance. Furthermore, it was found that antibiotics can cause a problem called dysbiosis. Our body contains millions of bacteria, the so-called microbiome. They fulfil many important functions which includes fighting disease-causing bacteria. When an antibiotic kills all these bacteria there is a void that can be filled by the dangerous bacteria, leading to worse diseases than before the treatment (e.g. C. difficile infection).
The onset of dysbiosis is why bacteriocins may be critical to treating bacterial infections. Bacteriocins are very specific antibiotics that kill only one kind of bacteria each, leaving the remaining microbiome intact. They bind to unique molecules on the surfaces of bacteria, trick the bacteria to take them up by disguising themselves as nutrients and finally kill them. Like traditional antibiotics some bacteriocins target transcription and cell wall synthesis, others however poke holes in the bacterium’s membrane or degrade their genetic information, their DNA or RNA.
It is known that bacteriocins are potent antibiotics in mice and pigs (and in moths), more potent in fact than conventional commercial antibiotics. There seem to be very low levels of resistance to bacteriocins and in experiments where bacteria were exposed to bacteriocins repeatedly, resistance did not emerge.
The potential for bacteriocins is huge and the field eagerly anticipates the start of human trials; a significant step forward considering some bacteria are resistant to all 26 antibiotics on the market [1]. One of the things that need to be known about any new medication before it is tested is how it works. This helps anticipate side effects. Therefore, my research focusses on unravelling the mechanism behind the most potent bacteriocin found to date: pyocin S5.
More specifically, I investigate how is pyocin S5 is so specific in finding its target cells? How does it get into target cells to kill? Where does the energy for the entry come from? And, can bacteria inactivate bacteriocins?
While these are very specific questions, answering them will (hopefully) be the first step to opening up the whole repertoire of bacteriocins for use in patients. If bacteriocins can prevent us from falling back into the pre-antibiotic era, their arrival could be as important as the discovery of penicillin was in Sir Alexander Flemings laboratory, close to a century ago.
Author: Hannah Behrens
If you would like to write a piece for the IITM blog please get in touch by emailing iitm@path.ox.ac.uk
References:
[1] Ashley Welch, ‘Woman died from superbug resistant to all available antibiotics in US’, 13 Jan. 2017, CBS News, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-dies-from-superbug-resistant-to-all-available-antibiotic-in-u-s/.
IITM students take to the stage to communicate science
IITM students, Bernadeta Dadonaite and Layal Liverpool, took to the stage at the start of the month to communicate science.
Bernadeta competed in the regional final of the science communication competition FameLab UK where participants have 3 minutes to explain a scientific concept of their choice to a non-expert audience, without the use of powerpoint.
Using wonderfully crafted props, Bernadeta delivered an enthusiastic and engaging talk about DNA origami and its potential use in targeted drug delivery. Her exceptional performance can be viewed here.
Bernadeta explains the concept of DNA origami
The very same week, although on a different stage, Layal gave a short talk about her PhD research at the first PubHD Oxford event. Without powerpoint or props, Layal made use of various analogies and hand gestures to explain how invading viruses are detected and dealt with by the innate immune system.
Layal describes how viruses are sensed by our cells
PubHD Oxford provides an opportunity for PhD students to explain their research at “pub-level”. PubHD events are held once a month at St Aldates Tavern and both Bernadeta and Layal are members of the organising committee.
An important part of being researchers is engaging the public with the science that we do. FameLab Oxford is run by Science Oxford, part of The Oxford Trust, and PubHD Oxford is supported by the British Science Association. The Wellcome Trust also encourages public engagement and offers support to all grant holders, from PhD students to Principal Investigators.
Author: Layal Liverpool
If you would like to write a piece for the IITM blog please get in touch by emailing iitm@path.ox.ac.uk
IITM students communicate their research at St Edmund Hall Research Expo 2017
As part of the St Edmund Hall Research Expo 2017, IITM DPhil students Beatrice, Corinna, Cherrelle and Layal ran a series of interactive science demonstrations for the St Edmund Hall community on themes related to their research.
The demonstrations were provided by Oxford Hands-On Science (OxHOS), a student-run society that was set up two years ago by IITM DPhil students Beatrice, Corinna and Megan. OxHOS regularly provides interactive science activities for schools and the general public.
OxHOS leaders Beatrice and Corinna demonstrating how DNA can be extracted from fruits
Activities ranged from extracting DNA from strawberries to seeing how mixing different blood types can trigger immune responses. Cherrelle and Layal used giant soft toy immune cells and microbes to explain how the immune system fights infection and how this process is mimicked through vaccination.
Layal and Cherrelle using giant soft toy immune cells and microbes to talk about infection and vaccination
The day provided a great opportunity for DPhil students to step outside the lab and engage a broad range of people with their research, from non-scientist academics to friends and family of the Hall community, and it was brilliant to receive positive feedback from participants.
Authors: Beatrice Tyrrell and Layal Liverpool
If you would like to write a piece for the IITM blog please get in touch by emailing iitm@path.ox.ac.uk
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