Ronan Carroll, assistant professor of biological sciences. Photo credit: Emily Mueting/Ohio University.
Science Café presents Dr. Ronan Carroll on “The Rise of the Superbugs,” on Wednesday, March 16, at 5 p.m. in the Baker Center Front Room.
About 12,000 people die every year in the United States from infections caused by MRSA, which is an antibiotic-resistant form of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. In large part, this problem has emerged because of the overuse of antibiotics. The rise of superbugs, highly resistant strains of bacteria, is now outpacing the development of new forms of antibiotics.
“The situation is getting progressively worse. Every year that goes by that we don’t develop any new antibiotics, we will have more resistant bacteria emerging,” says Carroll, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences. “The scariest part about all of this is, even if we prioritized funding right now, there will be about a 10-year lag between when the research kicks in and when the antibiotics are developed.”
Café events are free and open to students, faculty and staff. Café Conversations and Science Cafés are both venues for students to share their interests informally during a conversation exchange in a friendly setting. The Science Cafe is hosted by Dr. Sarah Wyatt, Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology and Vice President of the Ohio University Chapter of Sigma Xi. The two series are sponsored by the Ohio University chapter of Sigma Xi and the Office of the Vice President for Research. Find the Science Café on Facebook and Twitter.
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