Natural Products, Synthetic Biology and the Formulation of Novel Antimicrobials

利什曼病和严重的真菌病都是由复杂的真核病原体引起的，都是全球性的问题，我们只能配备有限的药物来应对，这些药物受到日益增长的耐药性的威胁。随着传统的小分子药物筛选和合理的药物设计未能揭示新的抗利什曼和抗真菌药物，人们的注意力再次转向自然界--大多数抗微生物药物的原始来源。在一个由学术界和工业界合作伙伴参与的合作项目中，我们将确定和评估经修饰的天然产品抗菌剂对利什曼原虫和白色念珠菌的有效性、作用模式和临床潜力。

Leishmaniasis and serious fungal disease, both caused by complex eukaryotic pathogens, are global problems for which we are only equipped with a limited array of drugs which are threatened by increasing resistance. With the failure of conventional small molecule drug screening and rational drug design to reveal new antileishmanials and antifungals, attention has turned once again to the natural world - the original source of most antimicrobials. In a collaborative project, involving partners from academia and industry, we will identify and evaluate the efficacy, mode of action and clinical potential of modified natural product antimicrobials against Leishmania species and Candida albicans.