Events
Discovering a novel therapy for urinary tract infections through outsourcing in-silico drug discovery (webinar)
Date and duration
Date: January 26th, 2022
Time: 2pm GMT / 9am EST
Duration: 45 minutes
Format: Webinar
Abstract
Serious bacterial infections represent a worldwide threat, due mainly to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria for which there are limited therapies. Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are among the most prevalent bacterial infections, affecting 150 million people per year, with 75% of infections occurring due to uropathogenic E. coli. Research from the University of Cambridge (Dr Ashraf Zarkan & Dr David Summers, Department of Genetics) highlighted the inhibition of an E. coli enzyme as a plausible route to reduce pathogenicity and increase antibiotic effectiveness in UTIs.
In this webinar, you will learn how a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and Cresset Discovery, combining cutting edge research with in-silico drug discovery expertise, successfully identified a set of novel inhibitors and, in a proof of concept, confirmed their ability to reduce pathogenicity in clinical strains of uropathogenic E. coli. The current focus is in optimizing these hits and completing pre-clinical development to be able to move further into clinical trials.
About the presenter
Dr Ashraf Zarkan, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Ash Zarkan is a microbiologist with a pharmaceutical background, holding a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. He did his bachelor's degree in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry followed by an MSc in Microbiology. He has a broad repertoire of training skills that range from experimental research to computational approaches to data analysis. Ash is passionate about tackling the increasing problem with antibiotic resistance, and his research has been focused on developing antibiotic adjuvants. He has a solid experience in bacterial signalling and antibiotic action, side effects, and combinations with adjuvants.
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