Combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
It’s never too early to start being a resistance fighter! As a high school student, rather than just reading about antimicrobial resistance, I wanted to get directly involved in AMR research and raise awareness. In my school’s Shuyuan Molecular Biology Laboratory, I had the opportunity to research and develop a poster presentation at the ASM Microbe 2022 Conference, focusing on heteroresistance in Enterobacter, one of the World Health Organization’s ESKAPE pathogens. Heteroresistance is an adaptive form of resistance that can emerge during antibiotic treatment. Researching environmental strains collected in Hong Kong and Guangdong, my analysis found that the genes behind heteroresistance are not new additions but probably universal in Enterobacter sp. – which means we can’t always expect straightforward antibiotics to work. I hope to further research this issue at the university level, and I’m committed to helping fellow students learn about AMR and initiate their own research projects. Because all of us need to be resistance fighters.
