Honoring faculty from a wide variety of fields of study, Brown University has announced nine faculty members in its annual program to support excellence in scholarly work by providing funding for selected faculty research projects deemed to be of exceptional merit. Elaine I. Savage Professor of Engineering Anita Shukla was among those recipients for her work titled, “β-lactamase responsive microneedles for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer biofilm infections.”
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are highly susceptible to bacterial biofilm formation. Current treatments include a combination of wound debridement and antibiotics, which are limited in their efficacy due to the recalcitrance of biofilm bacteria. These bacteria exhibit a range of antibiotic resistance mechanisms, including the production of β-lactamase enzymes (βLs), which deactivate β-lactam antibiotics, which are among the most common antibiotics prescribed for treatment of wound infections. Shukla’s lab will work to develop a βL-responsive microneedle patch, which will exhibit a dual approach to treating bacterial biofilms by physically disrupting the bacterial biofilm and releasing antibacterial therapeutics locally in response to βLs. This proposed device can limit the need for additional therapeutic interventions and lower the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
This research will result in a viable product that will be ready for pre-clinical testing, and would advance Brown’s position in the field of biomaterials for drug delivery, specifically for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant microbial infections, which is a significant global health threat.
Shukla is at the forefront of biomaterials research in infectious diseases and drug delivery. The Shukla Lab for Designer Biomaterials’ research is focused on developing biomaterials to address global health issues in infectious diseases including rapidly rising antimicrobial resistance, increasing severity of infections, and a dwindling pipeline of antimicrobial therapeutics. She has pioneered new approaches in materials chemistry that will make lasting contributions to the development of new antimicrobial drug delivery systems, biomaterial sensors, and biofunctional interfaces aimed at prevention and treatment of infections. Her work includes developing new microbe-responsive hydrogel drug-delivery systems and targeted nanoparticle therapeutics aimed at effectively treating life-threatening bacterial and fungal infections while limiting harmful side-effects and development of antimicrobial resistance.
Recently, Shukla served as chair of the National Science Foundation-sponsored Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA) workshop on Engineering Solutions to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance. The resulting report underscores the critical role engineers must play in addressing global challenges such as antimicrobial resistance.