Bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotic treatment because of overuse on a global scale. We now face a serious threat from infections, such as pneumonia, that are becoming harder to treat.
Syma Khalid, Professor of Computational Biophysics, and her team are using supercomputers and simulations to find solutions to this global challenge.
“Bacteria are always going to be one step ahead, and now they are fighting back against antibiotics. It’s like they’ve developed a new, stronger coat of armour and we need new weapons now,”
Using computer graphics and coding, together with biology and chemistry, Syma’s team is delving into the structure and processes within the bacteria. They can examine exactly how bacteria repel or destroy antibiotics, and how we might be able to tackle this to create new, successful drugs. They are working in collaboration with other research teams across the world to provide insight into the challenges facing scientists developing new and alternative antibiotics.
Access to the University’s supercomputing facility, Iridis – one of the top supercomputing sites in the UK – gives Syma and her team a head start in their research.
“Typically the calculations we do are on a large scale, which is not the norm in computational chemistry, but it’s made possible by being at Southampton. Things that take me a few weeks to do will take colleagues at other universities maybe months, so we have a real advantage,” Syma explains.
