A University College Dublin (UCD) researcher, Professor Paula Bourke, UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, is principal investigator (PI) on a €4.5 million collaborative project to develop new therapies to treat orthopaedic infection with antibiotic resistant microorganisms using cold plasma.
Plasma is the fourth state of matter, along with solid, liquid and gas, and is generated by applying energy to a gas to generate a range of active components. Cold plasma can be used to inactivate microbes and bacteria that cause human infections and this project will use cold plasma to tackle the challenges of antimicrobial resistance for human health.
The funding for this project, announced recently by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), has been awarded through the US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership, a tripartite partnership between the United States of America (USA), Republic of Ireland (RoI) and Northern Ireland (NI).
A total of four projects were announced, which between them will receive a joint investment of €12 million and will support more than 40 research positions across 10 research institutions, for three to five years.
The US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership, launched in July 2006, is a unique initiative that aims to increase the level of collaborative R&D amongst researchers and industry professionals across the three jurisdictions.
Professor Bourke will co-lead a project entitled, ‘Cold Plasma Therapies for Orthopaedic Infection’ in collaboration with Professor Brendan Gilmore, Queen’s University Belfast and Professor Theresa Freeman and Professor Noreen Hickok, Jefferson University.
Infection following orthopaedic implant is a life threatening and devastating complication to the reconstructive surgeries that are routinely performed to restore mobility and functionality to a huge patient population. New therapies to combat antibiotic resistant microorganisms and stimulate the patient’s own immune response to combat their infection are required.
Professor Bourke, UCD School of Biosystems and F