Kevin Waldron awarded Henry Dale Fellowship Grant
Kevin Waldron has recently been awarded one of the ten first Henry Dale Fellowship grants to be funded jointly by the Royal Society and the Wellcome Trust for his research into mechanisms of copper and silver toxicity in Staphylococcus aureus ( ~ £0.7M).
Copper is an essential micronutrient for most organisms, but is toxic in excess. In recent years, copper and the chemically similar element silver have attracted attention for their ability to rapidly kill microorganisms, both as metal salts and as solid metal surfaces. However, the mechanism(s) by which these toxic metals cause this toxicity are unknown, and largely unexplored. Within this fellowship project I will investigate the cellular functions for which copper is used in vivo, and the molecular mechanisms by which copper and silver interfere with normal cellular function in the mammalian pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that has become infamous due to its antibiotic resistant forms (MRSA).
For more information regarding the recipients and the award see: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-office/Press-releases/2012/WTP040464.htm
published on: 2nd November 2012
