202: AI vs. Superbugs: Can AI Help?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to grow as a global health threat, making infections harder to treat and leaving fewer options for patients. The need for new antibiotics is an urgent matter — but traditional discovery methods are slow and limited.

In this episode of Let’s Talk Micro, Luis is joined by Dr. James Collins, professor at MIT and researcher at the Broad Institute, who is leading efforts to apply AI to antibiotic discovery. We discuss how his team used deep learning to uncover promising new compounds, including NG1 and DN1, which showed activity against drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Staphylococcus aureus. We also talk about the challenges of bringing discoveries from computer models to the clinic, and what this approach could mean for the future of the fight against superbugs.

Link to study: https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674%2825%2900855-4

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