Research summary
Antibiotic resistance is on the rise all over the world. While we urgently need new antibiotics, bacterio-modulators have the potential to replace them in treating infections. Bacterio-modulators are molecules that can help our immune system eliminate infectious germs without affecting good bacteria. Dr. Karine Auclair, Canada Research Chair in Antimicrobials and Green Enzymes, is exploring their potential.
Auclair’s research focuses on two areas. The first is antimicrobials and resistance, where she and her research team are designing new antimicrobial agents and identifying molecules that re-sensitize bacteria to the host immune system. The second is green chemistry with enzymes. She and her team are pioneering innovative strategies to improve the activity of enzymes for biocatalytic applications and developing solvent-free methods for the clean degradation of biowastes and plastics.