A RESEARCHER from the University of Reading has secured funding for research into food poisoning.
Aidan Taylor, who lectures in Microbiology at the university, has been awarded more than £120,000 to study bacteria which has developed antibiotic resistance.
Campylobacter, which causes food poisoning, is thought to cost the UK economy £500m a year due to sickness, and has become increasingly difficult to treat as it grows more resistant to antibiotics.
Now the Academy of Medical Sciences has awarded £6.6m in funding to more than 50 biomedical and health researchers, including Taylor, as part of its Springboard Grants scheme.
It is designed to support independent research careers over the next two years, including with mentoring opportunities in areas including cancer research, antimicrobial resistance, musculoskeletal conditions and mental health.
Aidan said: “The technology I will be using to fight the bacteria that causes food poisoning works by disrupting its genes.
“Transposons are ‘jumping genes’ that insert themselves into other genes to create a library of mutant bacteria. Antibiotic treatments are then used on this mutant library, and we measure which ones survive and which ones do not, meaning we can see which genes are necessary for survival.
“Developing interventions for Campylobacter will allow us to reduce the number of infections in humans, saving the suffering of many thousands of people, reducing pressure on the NHS and the financial burden on the taxpayer.”
