Research Stories
Dreaming Big to Prevent a Post-Antibiotic World
Dr. Dao Nguyen
Modern medicine is built on the ability to control infections. Procedures like surgery or chemotherapy are only possible because we are able to prevent and control infections. However, bacterial and viral infections are increasingly becoming drug-resistant. An eye-opening statistic: 20-30 percent of bacteria are currently drug-resistant. These alarming numbers highlight just how important research and innovation are to treating and preventing antibiotic-resistant infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called antibiotic resistance one of the biggest threats to global health. Doctors, researchers and clinicians are now planning for a post-antibiotic world. And that reality is coming much sooner than we think. By 2050, more people will die from drug-resistant organisms than from cancer. World Antimicrobial Awareness Week is a WHO initiative taking place from November 18-24 2020, with a goal of sensitizing the public to the threat of infectious diseases and preventing the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.
“If we can’t control infections during a surgery like a hip replacement, it means a patient wouldn’t have a functional hip anymore or that doctors wouldn’t be able to replace a hip for a patient in need.” says Dr. Dao Nguyen, clinician-scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC).
Dr. Dao Nguyen is a clinician-scientist at the RI-MUHC and a researcher with the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4) . Her big dream is to create an Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Centre, a multidisciplinary project that would bring together researchers, physicians and clinicians from different fields to work towards preventing a post-antibiotic world. A world without effective antibiotics could mean treatments become more complicated, longer, or some that may not work at all.
“Let’s say you accidentally cut yourself. Right now, you can get treatment from a topical cream or take antibiotic pills to cure the infection in a few days,” says Dr. Nguyen. “With antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it wouldn’t be treated as easily and the infection could spread requiring an amputation.”
The MUHC Foundation is raising $20 million to launch the Antimicrobial Resistance Centre which would allow researchers to share ideas to identify the most pressing issues and address antibiotic resistance. The AMR Centre will research diagnostics, prevention, innovative projects and educational awareness bringing together the scientific community of the MUHC and elsewhere with the common goal of preventing a post-antibiotic world. By dreaming big and investing in a safer future together, we can change the course of medicine and save lives.
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Plus de 3 000 Canadiennes succombent chaque année à ces deux cancers, mais nous pouvons les sauver. Arrêtons ces tueurs silencieux, une fois pour toutes.
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À l’occasion de « Mardi je donne », votre contribution sera égalée jusqu’à concurrence de 50 000 $ grâce à la générosité d’un grand donateur anonyme! La Dre Gilbert et ses collègues Centre universitaire de santé McGill - McGill University Health Centre ont mis au point un test sécuritaire et moins invasif qui permet de dépister les cancers de l’ovaire et de l’endomètre de façon plus précoce que jamais auparavant.
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It's Giving Tuesday, and your donation today will be doubled up to $50,000 thanks to a generous anonymous donor. Dr. Gilbert and her colleagues @ The DOVEE Project have developed a test that offers a safe, less invasive way to detect ovarian and endometrial cancers earlier than ever before. The answer for moving this test into clinical implementation? Generous Giving Tuesday supporters like you. ❤️
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Demain, c’est la journée « Mardi je donne ». Voici un message important de Lawrie Shahbazian, une coordonnatrice du projet DOvEEgene The DOVEE Project
« Les femmes qui reçoivent un diagnostic de cancer de l’ovaire ou de l’endomètre se posent souvent cette question : ‘ J’ai pris soin de ma santé. J’ai passé les examens, les tests Pap et les mammographies. Qu’est-ce que j’aurais pu faire de plus?’ La réponse, c’est DOvEEgene. Notre test minimalement invasif fonctionne, ici et maintenant. Nous en sommes à la dernière étape de notre marathon, le passage aux essais cliniques de stade trois. En tant que jeune femme, je compte bien voir les résultats et les bienfaits de notre travail acharné de mon vivant. Avec votre aide, nous sauverons des vies.”
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Ahead of #GivingTuesday tomorrow, we’re sharing an important message Lawrie Shahbazian, a project coordinator The DOVEE Project :
“The question women diagnosed with ovarian or endometrial cancer often ask is: 'I took care of my health. I did my screenings, my pap tests, and my mammograms. What else could I have done?' DOvEEgene is the answer. Our minimally invasive test will work here and now. This is the last leg of our marathon, getting it to a stage three clinical trial. As a young woman, I plan to see the results and benefits of all this hard work in my lifetime. We will save lives.” 🙌❤️
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On this week’s Health Matters: It’s dubbed the silent killer, learn how Dr. Lucy Gilbert, the Centre universitaire de santé McGill - McGill University Health Centre’s Director of the Gynecologic Oncology Division, is working to eliminate ovarian and endometrial cancers through early detection with the The DOVEE Project. Plus, Joanne Photiades, an ovarian cancer survivor, shares her personal mission to ensure every woman has the chance to be diagnosed early enough to survive the disease. Learn more about how you can help this #GivingTuesday: bit.ly/3nTjtl9
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