University of Missouri – Columbia (MU)
The main research focus of our lab is to understand and explore the roles of hemostatic system in host/pathogen interaction for development of novel antimicrobials. Antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens is a serious public health problem, which is further aggravated by a drying antibiotic developmental pipeline.
We have identified a novel class of chemical compounds by high throughput screen to follow a novel paradigm of developing antimicrobials. They inhibit bacterial virulence without inhibiting bacterial growth to minimize the risk of resistance development. This new class of compounds can inhibit bacterial virulence factor expression which could markedly inhibit the bacteria virulence and protected the mice against bacterial infection. We are characterizing and optimizing these compounds in order to meet critical biological and medicinal chemical criteria for advanced pre-clinic trials.