Connected labs help talent collaborate in the fight against superbugs

When Marie-Ange Massicotte joined one of the world-leading infectious disease labs at McMaster University she couldn’t imagine a better environment to pursue research.
“It’s the infrastructure here,” says Massicotte, a PhD student in the Coombes Lab. “You have all the technology and instruments any researcher could ever dream of.”
After working as a microbiologist in labs that were more isolated from other scientists, Massicotte was also excited by the open and connected lab space in McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR).
“Science often leads you to unexpected places so it’s so helpful to have scientists in other specialties so physically close here to ask questions and solve problems from a different perspective.”
Just weeks after starting her PhD, the pandemic was declared and the lab shut down. Trying to advance her work in isolation at home reaffirmed Massicotte’s belief in the power of working closely with scientists from all disciplines to solve complex problems.
Beyond classic antibiotics
Massicotte, who is studying how bacteria such as salmonella evade our immune responses, is hoping her research will one day support the discovery of new medicines that work differently than classic antibiotics.
There is an urgency to find alternatives to antibiotics as more infections become resistant to the drugs doctors prescribe. More than one million people die of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections every year. It’s a growing public health threat that is often referred to as a “silent pandemic” because of the lack of awareness.
Massicotte’s research supports the Global Nexus for Pandemics and Biological Threats, an innovation hub at McMaster working in new ways to prevent pandemics and solve complex infectious disease problems like AMR.
Salmonella, which infects people through contaminated food, is one of the four causes of diarrhea-related diseases around the world and some strains are now resistant to antibiotics. While infections that result from salmonella are typically not life-threatening, Massicotte believes the bacteria’s complex relationship to our immune system may hold solutions to AMR.
Macrophages, which are cells in our immune system, starve the pathogens we are exposed to by removing essential nutrients. Salmonella, however, is able to sense the lack of micronutrients like iron and actually grab hold of them so they can continue to grow and cause infections. “I am really looking at how the host immune system influences the pathogenic behaviour of salmonella.”
While her work is highly specialized, Massicotte says she speaks to McMaster scientists outside her area every day, simply because the labs are so connected and the culture is collegial.
“We are always chatting with one another and asking, ‘What problems are you having these days? Have you seen this paper?’” says Massicotte. “It’s not that they can help you on the bench but just by chatting — other scientists can offer a new perspective that will help solve a problem.”
Massicotte was drawn to health sciences because it’s a “concrete way to help people around the world” by helping to slow the steady advance of superbugs. “The general public isn’t always aware of the serious threat antimicrobial resistance poses,” says Massicotte. “I believe that as long we keep trying to understand more about AMR, we are moving forward.”
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