Formation of Non-Pathogenic E. Coli Biofilms on Silicone

非技术性：休斯顿大学材料研究部生物材料项目授予休斯顿大学的这项研究将为生物膜的形成过程提供新的见解，这对于制定防止病原体定植和促进良性或抗菌生物膜形成的策略将是非常宝贵的。病原菌的定植以及随后在宿主、材料和设备上形成的生物膜对人类健康和环境造成了巨大的负面影响。拟议的研究是开发一种新的策略，利用良性细菌在硅胶表面形成高覆盖率和稳定的生物膜，以防止病原菌生物膜的形成。参与该项目的研究生和本科生将接受许多尖端研究技能和领域的培训。此外，每年还将招募一名本科生，并在校园内进行“TETHHOUSTON”计划的指导，以培训为STEM主题的K-12教师。这项计划是为了解决K-12科学教师的严重短缺问题而设立的。该项目的学生不仅在研究人员的实验室进行研究，而且从一年级开始就在当地学校任教。该计划的目标是为未来的教师提供高质量的研究体验，以便他们能够更好地启发年轻人进行科学探究。为此，这位调查员将帮助这些学生开发与他们的研究项目相关的教育模块，用于高中科学课堂。技术：致病微生物形成生物膜与大多数细菌疾病有关，特别是与生物医学设备相关的感染。包裹在生物膜中的病原体受到保护，不受宿主免疫防御和抗菌剂的影响。因此，它们很难根除，导致反复感染，并促进多药耐药性的发展。这项拟议研究的总体目标是开发一种新的策略，以防止用于导尿管的硅胶表面形成生物膜和相关的细菌感染。这一策略使用良性细菌在硅胶表面形成高覆盖率和稳定的生物膜，作为对抗病原体的活基地。这项研究的目的是用黏附分子修饰硅胶表面，使良性细菌能够形成高覆盖率和稳定的生物膜，并研究在生物膜形成过程中细菌对固定化黏附分子的响应。这一新的认识将指导良性生物膜的发展，以对抗病原体。参与该项目的学生将接受这一多学科领域的培训。为了培养未来的科学教师，每年将从校园的“TETHUSTON”项目中招募一名本科生，除了在研究人员的实验室开展研究活动外，还将接受用于高中化学和生物课堂的教育模块教师培训。

Non-Technical: This award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to University of Houston is to carry out research that will provide new insights to the process of biofilm formation, which will be invaluable for the development of strategies to prevent pathogen colonization and to promote the formation of benign or 'antimicrobial' biofilms. Colonization by pathogenic bacteria and the subsequent formation of biofilms on hosts, materials, and devices have a tremendous negative impact on human health and the environment. The proposed research is to develop a new strategy that uses benign bacteria to form a high coverage and stable biofilm on silicone surfaces to prevent biofilm formation by pathogenic bacteria. Graduate and undergraduate students involved in the project will be trained in many cutting-edge research skills and fields. Additionally, one undergraduate student per year will be recruited and mentored under the 'teachHouston' program at the campus to train as K-12 teachers in STEM topics. This program was established to address the critical shortage of K-12 science teachers. Students in the program not only do research in the researcher's laboratory, but also teach at local schools from their first year. The goal of the program is to provide high quality research experience to the future teachers so that they can better inspire young minds to scientific inquiry. Towards this end, this investigator will help these students to develop education modules related to their research projects for use in high school science classes.Technical: Biofilm formation by pathogenic microbes is involved in most bacterial diseases, especially biomedical device-associated infections. Pathogens enclosed in biofilms are protected from host immune defense and antimicrobial agents. Hence, they are difficult to eradicate, resulting in recurrent infections and facilitating the development of multidrug resistance. The overarching goal of the proposed research is to develop a new strategy to prevent biofilm formation on silicone surfaces used in urinary catheters and associated bacterial infection. This strategy uses benign bacteria to form a high coverage and stable biofilm on silicone surfaces as a live base to fight against pathogens. The objectives of the proposed research are to modify silicone surfaces with adhesion molecules to enable benign bacteria to form high coverage and stable biofilms, and to investigate the bacterial responses to the immobilized adhesion molecules during the biofilm formation process. The new understanding will guide the development of benign biofilms to fight against pathogens. Students involved in the project will be trained in this multidisciplinary area. To train future science teachers, one undergraduate student per year will be recruited from the 'teachHouston' program at the campus, and will be trained as teachers in education modules for use in high school chemistry and biology classes, in addition to their research activities in the researcher's laboratory.