Gerry Wright, scientific director of McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, has been recognized by the Canadian Society of Microbiologists for his ongoing research to combat antibiotic resistance." /> Gerry Wright, scientific director of McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, has been recognized by the Canadian Society of Microbiologists for his ongoing research to combat antibiotic resistance." />

Wright recognized for outstanding career in antibiotic resistance research

default-hero-image

Gerry Wright, scientific director of McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, has been recognized by the Canadian Society of Microbiologists for his ongoing research to combat antibiotic resistance.

The group has given Wright its CSM Murray Award for Career Achievement, which recognizes an outstanding Canadian microbiologist for key contributions to research.

The award was presented at the society’s annual conference, at which Wright presented a lecture entitled “Resisting resistance: Blocking antibiotic resistance with small molecules.”

“Gerry’s work on the origins and mechanisms of antibiotic drug resistance have advanced tremendously our understanding of how pathogenic bacteria escape today’s antibiotics,” says Eric Brown, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. “He has likewise capitalized on this understanding in order to blaze a trail for very creative and exciting approaches to subverting antibiotic drug resistance. He is unquestionably at the very top of this field worldwide and most deserving of the Murray Award for Career Achievement.”

Wright, the Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Infection and Anti-Infective Research and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Antibiotic Biochemistry, has received several awards throughout his career including a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Scientist and Medical Research Council of Canada Scholar award, a Killam Research Fellowship, Premier’s Research Excellence and Polanyi Prize. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2012 and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2013.