Killam Fellow sets sights on superbugs

McMaster researcher Gerry Wright will dedicate the next two years to an ambitious
project in antibiotic resistance after being awarded a prestigious Killam Research
Fellowship.

Recognized as one of the top scientists in his field, Wright is one of eight Canadian
researchers to win the 2011 award. The fellowships honour established scholars of
exceptional ability who are engaged in research projects of broad significance and
widespread interest.

“Antibiotic resistance is an incredibly timely issue right now and a very significant
medical problem that is only growing in importance,” Wright said. “There are a number
of issues that need to get resolved. I am delighted the Killam selection committee
looked favourably on my application and agree that we need to be doing Canadian
research in a field that is having a profound impact on the health of the population.”

Wright is the scientific director of McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote Institute for
Infectious Disease Research. He is also a professor in the Department of Biochemistry
and Biomedical Sciences. He has published on the topic of antibiotic resistance in many
publications, including the field's top journal, Nature Chemical Biology.

His Killam research project will focus on understanding antibiotic resistance and
developing strategies to identify leads for novel antibiotics from natural sources. He
will lead a research team to identify new resistance genes in environmental bacteria
and pathogens and study the molecular underpinnings of these genes in order to
develop new drugs and diagnostic tools.

Wright will also work to establish CARD: a complete antibiotic resistance database for
use by researchers, scientists and clinicians to track resistance elements and link this
data with clinical outbreaks and medical literature.

“I'm working with an amazing group of bioinformatics researchers and what we want to
do is build a resource that can be used by anyone in the world who is interested in the
field of antibiotic resistance,” Wright said. “The goal is to compile data in journals and
link basic research with population health data to create a unique web-based
resource.”

The Killam Fellowships, among Canada's most distinguished research awards, provide
$70,000 a year for two years to each recipient. They enable researchers to be released
from teaching and administrative duties so that they can pursue independent research.

“The Killam Fellowships are among the most desirable research awards in Canada. They
enable scientists to dedicate their time to creating new knowledge and, in the case of
Dr. Wright, advancing the field of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic drug discovery,”
said John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

“In the best McMaster tradition, Gerry Wright takes a multidisciplinary approach to the
complex problem of antibiotic resistance. By bridging disciplines and collaborating with
other scientists and clinicians, he is working towards understanding and developing
long-term solutions to this problem.”