RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY
Making history :
NWTC students publish research that could lead to new antibiotic
For the first time in NWTC ’ s history , students are publishing their work in a peer reviewed scientific journal . The two Microbiology students , Justyna Kakol and Mainor Vang , have multiple micropublications indexed in the National Library of Medicine for their work categorizing the antimicrobial activity or the bacterium species paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans . For non-scientists , that means Kakol and Vang have been working to understand the characteristics of a bacteria , specifically for use in antibiotics .
Part of the Tiny Earth project – a global network of instructors and students focused on discovering novel antibiotics from soil microorganisms – the research Kakol and Vang conducted is helping address one of the most pressing healthcare threats of the 21st century , the diminishing supply of effective antibiotics . Soil is a rich source of microbial activity , and many common antibiotics used today ( like penicillin ) were derived from soil bacteria or fungi . The Tiny Earth project represents a collaboration between education , research , and global medicine to address the challenge of antibiotic resistance . Kakol and Vang ’ s publications contribute to the growing body of research on developing new antibiotics .
The whole process , researching and finding new things , was a unique experience . It is exciting to be part of a potential new discovery .
Mainor Vang
Microbiology student
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