Dartmouth Medical School News


December 1, 2003

Weakening bacteria's resistance to antibiotics

First step toward treatment involves genetic research

Biofilms, slimy clusters of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, may have a genetic chink in their armor that could be exploited to combat the infections they cause.

A study led by Dartmouth Medical School researchers used a genetic-based approach to begin to understand how biofilms can withstand antibacterial treatments. The results of the study, published in the Nov. 20 issue of Nature, provide an innovative model for the investigation of biofilms that may lead to the development of new methods to hamper their resilience.

"We are beginning to get at some of the mechanisms that might be important to understanding the antibiotic resistance of biofilms, which is the first step in the long journey to developing a treatment," said lead author George O'Toole, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology. MORE>>

October 13, 2003

New Hampshire Center of Biomedical Research Excellence Funded

Hanover, NH – A team of New Hampshire scientists has been awarded a five-year, $12 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish an interdisciplinary research center on lung diseases in New Hampshire. The grant will support research at Dartmouth Medical School, Dartmouth College and Keene State College, in collaboration with the state of New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services and Department of Health and Human Services. MORE>>

October 3, 2003

KSC Awarded $1 Million Grant to Study Causes of Lung Disease

KEENE, N.H. - Researchers at Keene State College are among a team of New Hampshire scientists to have been awarded a $12 million, five-year grant from the National Institute of Health to establish a research center on lung diseases in New Hampshire. The grant will support research at Keene State, Dartmouth College, and Dartmouth Medical School, in collaboration with the N.H. Department of Environmental Services and Department of Health and Human Services. Keene State has been awarded $1 million of the grant, which is funded through the NIH's Centers of Biological Research Excellence (COBRE) program. MORE>>