Hera Akmal
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Angela Violi
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Mechanical Engineering / Engineering
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 1 – 10am – 10:50am
Room: League Ballroom
Authors:
Presenter: 16
Abstract
At an increasing rate, bacteria and microorganisms have been developing antibiotic resistance to drugs manufactured to treat them. This phenomenon has concerned researchers and healthcare professionals for decades; according to the CDC, antibiotic-resistant infections make up about 2.8 million cases yearly and cost billions of dollars to treat. This is especially worrying in the context of hospital-acquired infections, which have substantially higher morbidity and mortality rates due to the density of patients and regular exposure to staff in this environment. However, an emerging technology may be the solution: nanoparticles. With diameters ranging near a billionth of a meter, most only contain a few hundred atoms. As such, the material, shape, and other properties of nanoparticles have unique effects, especially on bacteria. In addition to their efficacy, nanoparticles are more time- and cost-efficient to develop in comparison to drugs, making them a preferable option. Dr. Angela Violi’s group is interested in finding nanoparticle-based solutions to the aforementioned biothreat of antibiotic resistance. The group has many participants working on different components of the research, one of which being the literature search. Assistants analyze hundreds of publications to create a database organizing nanoparticle properties and their effectiveness against strains of bacteria. Once the database is sufficiently completed, it will be adopted into a neural network and machine learning model to identify and match nanoparticles to their antibacterial uses against certain strains of bacteria. Due to the ongoing nature of this project, final results have yet to be gleaned; still, some trends can be observed throughout the data consolidated so far. For example, nanoparticles are most commonly composed of silver, zinc, gold, and copper, and in a usually spherical shape. Their effects are often tested against the likes of S. aureus and E. coli, with generally positive results. It is clear that nanoparticles are a promising alternative to combat drug-resistant bacteria. Looking toward the future, the ultimate goal of this project is to use machine learning and similar tools to develop these as the next generation of antimicrobial treatment.
Engineering
