Researchers awarded over $11 million to study multi-drug resistant infection factors

A study aimed at better understanding why some critically ill patients develop multidrug-resistant infections is underway by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The multi-institution study will enroll patients at Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The Dynamics of Colonization and Infection by Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens in Immunocompromised and Critically Ill Patients program received an $11 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to conduct this five-year study.

The research team will seek to explain the microbial, clinical, and antimicrobial resistance factors of three major multidrug-resistant pathogens: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci, Enterobacterales producing extended spectrum β-lactamases/carbapenemases, and Clostridioides difficile. All three pathogens are resistant to antimicrobial treatment such as antibiotics.