Joseph Bogdan
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Research Mentor(s): Robert Woods
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Internal Medicine – Infectious Diseases / Medicine
Program: CG
Session: Session 5 (2:40pm – 3:30pm)
Authors: Joseph Bogdan, Kevin Tracy, Aline Penkevich, Robert Woods
Abstract
Understanding transmission and antibiotic resistance evolution of bacteria in hospital settings is critical to preventing their spread. In this study, we attempt to better understand the relationship between resistance evolution and transmission by focusing on daptomycin resistance among a set of genetically characterized isolates of Enterococcus faecium. Specifically, we hypothesize that, due to the frequent transmission of this organism in the hospital, that resistance that arises in one patient is then subsequently transmitted to other patients. Daptomycin resistance is not readily discernible from the genotyping of E. faecium. Thus, we perform phenotypic assays on a number of previously identified suspected hospital transmission chains to get a better picture of whether the resistance arose in the patient that suffered from the antibiotic resistant infection, or if it arose within a different patient earlier in the transmission chain. Daptomycin resistance testing was performed by broth microdilution, which allowed the calculation of the minimum inhibitory concentration. The results allow us to better understand where, along these transmission chains, the resistance phenotypes evolved.
