Erdal Toprak

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Antibiotics are among the most significant discoveries in modern medical history, enabling not only the treatment of once-deadly infectious diseases but also making critical medical procedures—such as surgeries, organ transplants, and cancer therapies—possible. However, the increasing incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections has led to rising morbidity and mortality, particularly among immunocompromised patients. Overcoming this challenge requires a comprehensive understanding of bacterial survival mechanisms and the development of strategies to limit the evolution of resistance.

In this talk, I will summarize our lab’s recent work on how bacteria survive antibiotic treatment by employing both canonical and noncanonical strategies, including persistence and sheltering. I will also discuss our recent findings on the predictability of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase evolution, one of the most concerning resistance mechanisms in clinical settings today.

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UT Southwestern Medical Center
H3
Contact: Gabriela Petrungaro