Fighting Infectious Diseases Through Research

Karl Thompson (B.S. ‘00, Ph.D. ’06), associate professor in the College of Medicine and graduate program director of the University’s Department of Microbiology, has been awarded the National Institutes of Health’s $2 million Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) grant.

“This grant award will provide the fuel needed to propel the research forward and answer critical medical questions facing our communities. It will be a catalyst for more innovation and graduate student education in the College of Medicine and beyond,” said Andrea Hayes Dixon, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine.        

Thompson was awarded the first installation of the $2 million grant on August 2. The first aspects of the project include re-equipping and upgrading the his lab to advance the lab’s research and training capacity. Thompson will purchase a new multimode plate reader/cell imager, a fast protein liquid chromatographer (FPLC), and a gradient maker and fractionator. The grant will also support research on the isolation of molecules interacting with bacterial RNAs and training for students in biochemistry techniques to equip them to compete for biotech jobs or advanced academic research training positions after graduation.

The research funded by this grant will explore how bacteria adapt to harsh environments by regulating their gene expression through unique RNA molecules.

“In order for bacteria to mount a successful infection, they must survive the immune system and exposure to antibiotics,” Thompson said. “We know that bacteria have robust and complex mechanisms at their disposal to mitigate environmental threats. But there is much more for us to uncover about the controlled deployment of these RNA molecules by bacteria. With this new funding, we will define the conditions, timing, and consequences of this deployment.”

The implications of Thompson’s research are profound as antibiotic resistance is a growing global health threat. According to the Lancet, a health and science publication, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections could surpass cancer as a leading cause of mortality, with more than 39 million projected related deaths by 2050. 

“This work will advance our understanding of bacterial genomes and RNA science, enabling us to better comprehend the intricacies of the infection process and to develop improved anti-bacterial therapeutics,” Thompson added.