Team:McMasterU/HP/Summary
Human Practices Project Overview
Multi-Stakeholder Consultation
The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant and hypervirulent bacterial strains represents a growing global healthcare concern. However, early detection of pathogenic microbes allow for timely care of patients and the prevention of infectious strains proliferation. In the face of the current challenges in profiling bacterial infections, we are designing a fast and user-friendly detection assay using fluorogenic DNAzymes as the molecular probe. Our fluorogenic DNAzymes are single-stranded functionalized DNA capable of cleaving a fluorophore-quencher construct specifically in the presence of E. coli. Upon cleavage, the quencher can no longer suppress the fluorophore, resulting in intense fluorescence. This fluorescence intensity can be also used to quantify the amount of E. coli, and potentially achieve strain-specific recognition. Our novel approach to early pathogen detection technology can potentially enhance our ability to respond to disease outbreaks from infectious bacteria.
Integrated Human Practices
The Human Practices team will investigate the current process of detecting antibiotic resistant bacteria to better understand the context for which the Wet Lab is developing the product. We will examine direct and indirect costs, accessibility, time constraints, safety and ethics of the current processes. From the information collected, we will discuss the need and the potential impact of developing products that will detect bacteria more cheaply and quickly. We will focus in Hamilton and surrounding areas, and conduct personal interviews with the stakeholders. Individuals that we are looking to contact are researchers, Hamilton residents, sanitation advocacy groups, politicians, administrators, and journalists. HP may build case studies that focus on patient groups such as seniors, infants and individuals with low immune response. HP will remain in heavy communication with the wet lab and dry lab teams, to ensure that the final products from the research teams are integrated to represent thorough exploration of antibiotic resistant bacteria detection.
