George Williams, a GCDC PDRA based in the School of Physical Sciences, talks about his GCDC-funded postdoctoral research, completing his viva and rekindling old hobbies during lockdown.
I have been working on the GCDC-funded project with Dr Jennifer Hiscock for about four months now. We are developing a novel set of compounds that are able to interact with each other, forming a variety of different structures that are able to kill bacteria. Prior to the advent of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis, big pharmaceutical companies tended to be the ones discovering and producing antibiotics. Unfortunately, owing to the speed at which bacteria can gain resistance this become less profitable, and so the torch has been passed to the academic community.
Whilst AMR is a global problem, it is of particular concern in developing countries. These countries typically have less strict controls over the prescription of antibiotics, which can lead to a more rapid spread of resistant species. This is exacerbated by the fact that many DAC countries have lower quality sanitation and healthcare services. Through our partnership with the University of the Free State, we are targeting AMR bacterial species of particular danger to South Africa, but the project will benefit other ODA countries, including Lesotho, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania.
I am quite new to Canterbury, after having completed my undergraduate, masters and PhD at the University of Bath. Upon arriving, I was welcomed by an incredibly friendly group in the School of Physical Sciences, and in my free time I decided to train in mixed martial arts. However, as I couldn’t see anyone or train during lockdown, I decided to head back west. Therefore, I am currently working remotely from Bath.
Lockdown has of course been problematic for the project, as working from home tends to preclude lab work! However the time away from the lab has given the research group an opportunity to pull all of our data together and make more informed decisions on where we want to go when we are able to get back in the lab. Staying in contact with each other has been really important, and as a result we have managed to keep publishing, with more manuscripts under preparation.
Near the start of lockdown I undertook my PhD viva sat at a desk in the bedroom, which certainly wasn’t how I imaged it!
I have found keeping my weekends properly free really helpful; years of working with multistage synthesis and growing bacteria has resulted in my days often blurring together, but it’s been good to dedicate some time to switch off. Travelling generally takes up a big portion of my time off, but it’s been really fun rekindling some old hobbies like shaping surfboards (see image below)!
George Williams is a GCDC PDRA working with Dr Jennifer Hiscock (School of Physical Sciences) and Professor Dan Mulvihill (School of Biosciences) on the development of novel small molecules to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria, a global threat that is predicted to take more lives than cancer by 2050, especially in less developed countries. You can read more about George’s research here.