Speaker: Amanda Peiffer, PhD (she/her)' Postdoctoral Associate, Kiessling Lab, Department of Chemistry Massachusetts Institute of Technology  

Seminar Title: An Antibiotic Impasse: Leveraging Glycobiology as a New Therapeutic Strategy for Resistant Infections

Date & Time: Friday, April 12, 2024, 3:30 - 4:30 pm

Location: Druckenmiller Hall, Room 016

Abstract

Microbial infections are one of the top global threats — one out of every eight people globally dies from an infection. And as antibiotic resistance continues to rise, traditional anti-microbial strategies are reaching an impasse.  My research as a chemical biologist is focused on trying something different. Instead of developing compounds to directly kill bacteria (which in turn could lead to resistance mechanisms), what if we instead recruited immune cells to an infection to clear it out naturally? Through this framework, I have synthesized glycopolymers to recruit phagocytotic cells to the site of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. With promising preliminary data, I believe this approach can be tailored to go after a dearth of antibiotic-resistant microbes.

Bio

I’m passionate about liberal arts colleges because of my own experience at Denison University in Ohio, where I double majored in math and chemistry (2016). Liberal arts colleges encourage the kind of creative problem-solving and cross-disciplinary collaborations that are vital in today’s age of science. After college, I transitioned to a PhD in the Program in Chemical Biology at the University of Michigan under the co-advisement of Prof. Anna Mapp and Prof. Charles Brook III. There, I studied protein dynamics involved in transcriptional regulation using molecular dynamics simulations and in vitro assays, leveraging my math and biochemical skills. In 2021, I joined Prof. Laura Kiessling’s research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a post-doctoral associate. Since joining, I’ve been studying glycobiology, immunology, and microbiology.