Provost’s Colloquium Series Presents a Talk on Antibiotic Resistance – The Next Great Epidemic

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on October 3, 2018, No Comments

The East Stroudsburg University’s Provost’s Colloquium Series continues with a presentation by Josh Loomis, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology. The presentation “Antibiotic Resistance – The Next Great Epidemic?” will take place Beers Lecture Hall on Wednesday, October 10 at from 5:30 p.m.

The widespread use of antibiotics in both clinical medicine and animal husbandry has led to the appearance of antibiotic-resistant strains of many human pathogens. In fact, some strains, like methicillin-and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and VRSA) and pan-drug resistant tuberculosis (PDR TB), have gained resistance to almost all antibiotics currently on the market. Despite efforts to contain them, antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to cause roughly 2 million infections and 25,000 deaths each year in the United States. Epidemiologists believe society may be on the verge of one of the worst medical catastrophes in history.

Dr. Loomis will discuss the many causes of this crisis, its current impacts, and the potential long-term implications for human health. Additionally, he will describe how we have attempted to contain resistance in the past and what should be done to address it in the future. As part of this discussion, Loomis will speak about how students enrolled in his microbiology course have recently joined in the search for new antibiotics as part of the Small World Initiative, which is a network of colleges and universities that are participating in the search for new antibiotics.

For more information about the Provost’s Colloquium Series, contact Christina McDonald, director, office of sponsored projects and research, at (570) 422-7954 or cmcdonald9@esu.edu.