The world is running out of antibiotics. This researcher is working on finding a solution.

With antimicrobial resistance on the rise, many infections that were once easily treated are becoming fatal. (Illustration/Stuart Briars)
With antimicrobial resistance on the rise, many infections that were once easily treated are becoming fatal. (Illustration/Stuart Briars)

With too few antibiotics under development to keep up with the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections, the world is starting to run out of antibiotics.

That also means hospitals will start seeing more patients with infections they can’t treat, and more infections that were once easily treated are becoming fatal. A Purdue University scientist is trying to keep that from happening.

Mohamed Seleem, a professor of microbiology in Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is studying whether FDA-approved drugs can treat antibiotic resistant infections.

“The reality is that we are entering a time where we will run out of antibiotics,” Seleem said. “It’s a scary thought and it’s a critical situation. That’s what keeps encouraging me – knowing that if this works, this is going to make a difference and potentially save lives.”

Seleem’s research and expertise is focused on developing new antimicrobials and the improved delivery of drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases that affect both humans and animals.

Read the full story at Purdue News.

Recent Stories

Ruby’s Road to Stability: Purdue Veterinary Hospital Provides Collaborative Approach to Complex Care

Today we continue a series of articles about animals and their owners who’ve found help and healing at the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital as we share the story of a dog named Ruby.

PVM Global Engagement Director Receives Outstanding Leadership in Globalization Award

Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine is making strides far beyond the state of Indiana, thanks in large part to the tremendous efforts of Addison Sheldon, the college’s director of global engagement. Sheldon is a Purdue graduate who joined the PVM Office of Engagement in April of 2021. His contributions were recognized recently when he was selected, along with three other Purdue staff and faculty members, by the university’s Global Academic Committee to receive the 2025 Outstanding Leadership in Globalization Award.

How do landscape architects design spaces for animals?

With help from the Purdue Veterinary Hospital, a graduating senior in the Purdue College of Agriculture mastered the answer to that question through practical experience. The Purdue University Veterinary Hospital offers specialized medical care to both small and large animals often using outdoor areas like paddocks and dog runs. At first glance, these areas might seem like just a fence and a patch of grass. Over the past semester, Mary Schultz, a senior in horticulture and landscape architecture, has worked with the veterinary hospital to reimagine its outdoor spaces and brainstorm solutions for the landscape’s technical, maintenance and aesthetic issues.