Speaker Details

Biography

Nancy D. Connell is Professor and Director of Research in the Division of Infectious Disease in the Department of Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences. A Harvard University Ph.D. in Microbiology, followed by postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Barry Bloom at Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Connell's major research focus is antibacterial drug discovery in respiratory pathogens such as M. tuberculosis and B. anthracis. Her recent work also focuses on the use of predatory bacteria as novel therapeutics for treatment of Gram negative bacterial infections, including MDR strains and select agents. Dr. Connell has been continuously funded by the NIH, the Department of Defense and DARPA, industry, and other agencies since 1993. Dr. Connell chairs the Institutional Biosafety Committee of Rutgers University and directs NJMS's biosafety level three containment laboratory. She serves on or has chaired multiple NIH review panels. She is a member of the US-CDC's Biological Agent Containment Working Group in the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. Dr. Connell has a long-standing interest in the development of regulatory policies associated with biocontainment work, and Dual Use Research of Concern. In addition to biomedical research policy, Dr. Connell has considerable experience and interest in pedagogy, with a focus on international ethics education and the responsible conduct of research. She has presented at workshops and meetings around the world on the interrelated issues of biocontainment, infectious disease research, research ethics and dual use research of concern. Having served on over 15 committees at the National Academies, Dr. Connell is a member of the Board on Life Sciences and is a National Associate of the National Academies of Sciences, and has just completed a six month sabbatical as Visiting Scholar at the Board on Life Sciences.

Abstract

Predatory bacteria and the fight against Gram-negative pathogens: resistance is futile!

With increasing numbers of antibiotics becoming ineffective, multi-drug resistant bacteria have become a growing cause of life-threatening infections. Indeed, there are some bacterial strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Klebsiella pneumoniae that are completely resistant to known antibiotics. We have been exploring the use of predatory bacteria, such as Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Micavibrio aeruginosavorus, as a novel antimicrobial therapy. These predator bacteria are Gram negative obligate parasites that attack and destroy other Gram negative bacteria, using the preys' cytoplasmic contents as nutrients to multiply and continue to attack susceptible prey. Here, we describe 1) the range of prey bacteria that are susceptible to predation in vitro, 2) our published and unpublished in vivo experiments exploring the use of these bacteria as "live antibiotics" 3) the microbiome of animals exposed to these Gram negative predators and 4) experiments that explore the gene expression response of both the host and the prey to the predation event. We propose that the predator bacteria can provide an urgently needed addition to the armamentarium required to combat bacterial infections in the post-antibiotic era.