Funding to help shed light on drug-resistant lung infection

PhD researcher Sean Kelly has received backing from the Boomer Esiason Foundation
PhD student Sean Kelly
A University of Plymouth researcher is exploring how ‘nasty’ bacteria can affect people with cystic fibrosis thanks to funding from an international charity.
Sean Kelly – a BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science graduate – is doing his PhD full-time thanks to the £25,000 donation from the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF), and is researching into several little-studied organisms that are proving hard to treat.
He will be looking at Mycobacterium abscessus and species of other bacterial groups called Cupriavidus, Ralstonia, and Pandoraea, which are all heavily drug-resistant. While thankfully rare, they can have a significant impact on people with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic condition that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system.
People with CF already experience reduced lung function as sticky mucus builds up, and are more susceptible to other viruses and bacteria that attack the lungs. Now, thanks to this funding, Sean is hoping he’ll be able to find out more about how the bacteria operate and, in future, understand how to treat them.

A lot of infections affect people with CF, but very little is known about these ones in particular. One thing we do know is that they are heavily drug resistant, but everything else – including how they interact with the host and how they grow – just isn’t well understood.

While thankfully they are not the most common bacteria to affect people with CF, they can prove difficult to treat, with long-lasting and nasty effects, and numbers of infections are increasing. 

So it’s vital we get this research done – the more we know about these infections, the more we can do to work out how to tackle them.

I’m so thankful for this funding opportunity, as it has enabled me to carry out the science full time. This research wouldn’t happen without this sort of support so we’re beyond grateful to the Boomer Esiason Foundation for their backing.

Sean KellyMr Sean Kelly
PhD candidate and BSc Biomedical Sciences graduate

Sean Kelly in lab
An interactive workshop to discover new forms of antibiotic resistance using cutting-edge DNA sequencing methods.
Sean Kelly in lab

Despite the massive progress that we’ve seen in cystic fibrosis research and therapeutic development, we still have a lot of work to do.

Our Foundation is committed to addressing antimicrobial resistance, which is not only a major challenge for cystic fibrosis patients, but also a global health issue of great concern. We’re encouraged by the research at the University of Plymouth in support of the effort to address antimicrobial resistance and are thrilled to partner with the team on their work. 
Gunnar Esiason, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Advocacy at the Boomer Esiason Foundation 

Tackling drug-resistant infections is among the most pressing problems worldwide today, and the University has a number of projects looking at how to address it on a local, national and international scale.

Having the support of the Foundation to help better understand a part of the issue has the potential to transform lives, and we’re very proud that they’ve supported the project. 
Naomi Box, Head of Development and Alumni Relations at the University of Plymouth
Researchers working in a laboratory - part of the Peninsula Medical Foundation 

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