Virginia Tech professor receives $1m to investigate biofilm formation

摘要

US Zhaomin Yang, an Associate Professor at the College of Science at Virginia Tech, has received a US$1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to understand how bacteria decide whether to stay and build a biofilm or to initiate motility and move to new territory. "Part of the reason that chronic infections are difficult to treat is that bacterial pathogens in biofilms are more resistant to antibiotics," said Yang. Research on transition between biofilm and motile states has mostly been on flagellated bacteria.