UMSS19Ben Williams

The Impact of Prophage BPs on Antibiotic Resistance in Mycobacteria

Transcript:

A big global health concern right now in all fields of medicine is antibiotic resistance.

In general, any kind of antibiotic resistance makes small infections really difficult to treat and it can lead to bigger issues that can just compound in the future.

And then the way that we’re trying to address that in this lab is we’re studying one bacteria specifically, and we’re studying how effects of viruses that integrate into that bacteria have on antibiotic resistance.

I love research, personally. I mean, it’s a great challenge. I have to apply a base of knowledge to a lot of different concepts and issues. It’s a really fun experience – it’s exciting.

The symposium is just a really exciting day. You know, it’s a time to kind of show off everything you’ve done and stand up in front of your peers and mentors and really talk about the data you’ve collected over the year. It’s also a great time. You know, a lot of mentors love to come in and grill you with questions and make sure you know your stuff.

It’s just a great way to push yourself and knowing that you’re a small part of the bigger picture makes it more approachable.

As an undergrad, it’s not too intimidating, but you also know that the data you collect matters, and not just on your research, but on others’ research, and on other lives as well, potentially in the future.