How TB Bacteria Evade Treatment

Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations
Tuesday, December 10th at 6:30 PM

Bree Alderidge Event 12/10/13
Bree Aldridge, PhD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine; member of the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology program faculties at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts School of Engineering.
The Aldridge Lab.

Tuberculosis is one of the deadliest diseases in our crowded world, and by far one of the hardest diseases to conquer because TB bacteria are exceptionally clever at outwitting the antibiotics designed to arrest the disease. Professor Bree Aldridge has pioneered research that illuminates the mechanisms used by mycobacteria (TB) to evade medication.

Scientists are now beginning to understand that identical cells are like identical twins: although genetically identical, individual cells can have surprisingly different characteristics. The Aldridge Lab studies the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. These cells vary in their response to antibiotic therapy, even in controlled laboratory conditions. The Aldridge team uses live-cell imaging and mathematical modeling to understand how TB cells differ from one another and how individual distinctions affect the response to antibiotics. In doing so, Dr. Aldridge and her group address a major obstacle in controlling tuberculosis, which is the lengthy multi-drug therapy currently required to effectively cure the disease. By understanding how some bacteria behave differently, they hope to identify more effective treatments.

An article about Dr. Aldridge’s work: Why Some TB Cells Resist Antibiotics

Dr. Aldridge is awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship

Dr. Aldridge wins prestigious NIH award