Developing novel antibiotics from natural products against resistant bacteria

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest challenges globally; research to identify novel chemicals that can fight against AMR is needed urgently. Natural products provide a diverse source for chemical scaffolds with biological activities, including antibacterial activity. The main aim of this project is to use medicinal chemistry approaches to develop novel antibacterial agents based on natural product scaffolds to tackle AMR and use chemical biology approach to understand the mechanism of antibacterial activity. The project will involve working with experienced pharmacologists and microbiologists from both the University and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (Dr Adam Roberts is an external co-supervisor from LSTM) to produce new derivatives of natural products and test them against sensitive and resistant bacteria.