Novel strategies to combat medical biofilms in the future

2021.03.26 | Graduate School of Health

On Friday 23 April at 13:00, Sandra Maria Skovdal defends her PhD dissertation entitled "Novel strategies to combat medical biofilms".

The antibiotic tolerance of bacteria is one of the major challenges in today's health care. A primary cause is the formation of biofilms during infections, and it is estimated that biofilms are involved in approx. 65 % of hospital-acquired infections. Biofilms are cities of bacteria, in which the bacteria communicate and coordinate formation of a defense against external threats such as antibiotics, the immune system and environmental changes. Biofilm can be compared to a multicellular organism with different subgroups of cell types and functions, able to adapt to a given environment. In clinical medicine, biofilm formation is associated with antibiotic treatment failure, recurrent infections, additional surgical interventions as well as increased morbidity and mortality. The purpose of the PhD project is to investigate new potential strategies for combating biofilm infections in the future, and to transfer new strategies from basic science to preclinical models. The first study involves a promising potential of a new coating for titanium implants, which prevents bacterial attachment and improves the effect of antibiotics. The next study pursues a better understanding of how the otherwise harmless Staphylococcus epidermidis becomes pathogenic during a biofilm infection. The third study involves repurposing of already approved drugs; one that has recently revealed to excert antimicrobial effect; and another which is hypothesized to interfere with biofilm formation. This PhD study is translational research contributing with new knowledge on S. epidermidis biofilm and bridges the gap between promising laboratory results and clinical medicine, for the benefit of future patients in the fight against biofilm infections.   

The summary is written by the PhD student.    

The defence is public and takes place online via Zoom. Please read the attached press release for more information.

Contact:

PhD student Sandra Maria Skovdal

Mail: skovdal@clin.au.dk

Phone: (+45) 29846373

Read full press release