About
Team Ulcer is dedicated to fighting Helicobacter pylori, a gram-negative microaerophilic pathogen that likes to live in the human stomach. It can withstand highly acidic pH conditions and burrows into the stomach lining, which makes it difficult to eradicate using conventional medications. To mimic the low oxygen content of H. pylori’s preferred stomach environment, we conduct all of our assays in an anaerobic chamber. Our project’s current trajectory involves proving that nisin, our favorite novel bacteriocin, is a more effective treatment than the default antibiotic cocktail, which is not only harmful to the gut microbiome but decreases in efficacy every single year. Our focus will be on comparing the efficacy of nisin and metronidazole (MTZ), the most commonly prescribed antibiotic to treat H. pylori infections. Studies have shown that the resistance rate of H. pylori against MTZ has climbed as high as 68% on the first round of administration, and as high as 99% on the second round. To prevent resistance rates from climbing further, we maintain that nisin should replace antibiotics as the first line of defense against this pathogen.
Current Members
Catherine Chu, Mei Edgerly, Penny Reynolds
Past Members
Samantha Bozorgzadeh (’22)