Michael Ranieri receives OGS Fellowship

Michael Ranieri, a MSc student in the Burrows lab, was awarded a competitive Ontario Graduate Scholar Fellowship to support his research on the mechanisms underlying stimulation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation by sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics. Biofilms are communities of bacteria that show increased tolerance to antibiotics, creating treatment problems when they colonize medical devices or hard-to-reach body cavities such as the lung, sinuses, or inner ear. Paradoxically, treating them with doses of antibiotics too low to kill can dramatically increase biofilm biomass, exacerbating the problem. Mike is searching for the molecular pathways that lead to increased biofilm formation so we can block them. Congratulations Mike on your award!