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PrintCanada Research Chair in Antimicrobial Research
Eric Brown
Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
Email: ebrown@mcmaster.ca
Research Involves
Microbiology. New targets in antibacterial research.
Research Relevance
Developing new targets for new antibacterial drugs.
Finding New Ways to Combat Superbugs
The headlines are ominous - "Local Hospital Invaded by Superbug" or "Drug-Resistant TB on the Rise." Our long-held confidence in the ability of modern drugs to combat most types of bacterial infection is being undermined, and with good reason. Why is this happening and what steps are being taken to remedy the situation?
One part of the equation is that, in the last twenty years, there has been a decline in the introduction of new antibacterial agents. The result has been an alarming increase in bacterial resistance to existing antibiotics.
McMaster University is at the forefront of the search for new ways to combat bacterial agents and last year established an Antimicrobial Research Centre (ARC). Researchers at McMaster and the regional hospitals are actively collaborating with members of ARC to create a critical mass of focused and interrelated research. Microbiologist Dr. Eric Brown heads one of the four core research laboratories making up ARC.
Dr. Brown and his research team have taken up the challenge of identifying and characterizing new bacterial targets for antibacterial drug development. His research projects involve the identification of genes encoding critical enzymes in bacteria. The ultimate goal is the discovery of potent drug-like inhibitors of these target enzymes. For example, they are searching for unknown proteins essential to the growth of E. coli and are developing approaches for understanding their activities. To date, they have applied pioneering bioinformatics in genomics comparison to some 1500 E.coli unknowns to yield a short list of 25 candidates for further study.
The breadth of activity in Dr. Brown's laboratory also represents an outstanding opportunity for biochemistry trainees, who are exposed to problem-based approaches to modern drug discovery. Such training will help prepare them to work in discovery research settings in the academic or pharmaceutical/biotechnology sectors.