July 13, 2018
Antibiotic resistant bacteria is a looming danger that can severely impact health solutions around the world. Lilly McQueen ’19 is looking into potential ways to prevent that resistance.
Faculty Mentor: Anthony Lobo, Biology
Her research methodology is quite simple: “You just stick a tube onto an antibiotic and then put the tube into the bacteria that does not want to eat the antibiotic and hopefully it will stay there,” McQueen says.
With a focus on antibiotic resistant enterococcus bacteria, McQueen and her advisor, Anthony Lobo, an associate professor of biology, have been testing this technique. McQueen says the ability to exclusively focus on the research over the summer has given her more time to learn new techniques and explore research topics that interest her in more detail.
“I’ve always had fun working on the more challenging projects, so that’s one of the reasons I chose working with antibiotic resistance and nanotubes, which can be dangerous in their own way,” she says. “I hope to work on more solutions for antibiotic resistant bacteria. I like nanotech and using it in combination with biology as a tool.”