BRIDGE Proof of Concept Fellowship for scientist discovering novel antibiotics
Steven Schmitt from the Bioprocess Lab of Sven Panke was awarded the BRIDGE Proof of Concept Fellowship to support his research on screening nature’s microorganisms for antibiotic producers. Together with Irene Wüthrich, Steven coheads the ambitious project SpheroBiotics with the aim to fight antimicrobial resistance.
Increasing resistance to antibiotic drugs calls for the discovery of new antibiotic substances and alternative treatment options. Most of our antibiotic drugs originate from nature but with today’s technology it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify new molecules or explore new sources for antimicrobial substances.
The project SpheroBiotics picks up where classic research into natural substances has reached its limits. The technology developed by Steven and his colleagues facilitates the screening of microbial communities within microscopic droplets (so-called microspheres) to identify organisms that produce new antibiotic substances.
The advantage of this technology is its speed and the volume screened: a high throughput allows for the analysis of more than a million microbial strains within a few days which then helps to identify the producers of rare and novel substances while excluding already known substances. The rare substances are then further examined for their antimicrobial effects.
The BRIDGE Proof of Concept Fellowship will help Steven to advance the technology, prepare a patent application and to make SpheroBiotics ready for market entry.
BRIDGE is a joint program conducted by the SNSF and Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency. It offers new funding opportunities at the intersection of basic research and science-based innovation, thereby supplementing the funding activities of the two organizations.
Find information on the project external pageSpheroBiotics.
Read about the external pageBRIDGE Proof of Concept Fellowship.