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Caroline Zellmer’s research focuses on understanding drug-resistant bacteria to develop alternatives to antibiotics.

Caroline is a PhD student at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease where she studies antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria.

AMR is a growing, unmitigated problem that is estimated to kill more people than cancer by 2050. It is a challenge that spans human, animal and environmental health and sustainability efforts. In her research, Caroline studies how the behaviour and shape of bacteria (phenotype) influences bacterial susceptibility to antimicrobials. Gaining this understanding will support efforts to design new antimicrobials that can fill a treatment gap, as there is currently a paucity of available therapeutic options for AMR bacteria.

Within the AMR challenge she focuses on Klebsiella, the most AMR resistant pathogen ever isolated.

Caroline’s research relates to the UN SDG good health and well-being. Without new therapeutic approaches to mitigate AMR bacteria, we will be lacking any treatment options for drug-resistant infections, as in many parts of the world there are already entirely antibiotic resistant pathogens.