Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington have received more than $4.6 million in federal funding to study how harmful bacteria become resistant to antibiotics and how they interact with the body during infection. By understanding how bacteria adapt under stress, the findings could lead to improved treatments and better protection against dangerous infections.
Qing Tang, assistant professor of biology and head of the Tang lab, recently secured two major federal grants:
“Our lab studies two important human pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus . We are interested in how these bacteria respond to stress during infection and during antibiotic treatment,” Dr. Tang said. “My belief is that fundamental research can lead to therapies that help patients in the long term.”
The pathogens studied in Tang’s lab can cause serious illnesses, including meningitis and listeriosis from Listeria monocytogenes and chronic lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis from Staphylococcus aureus . The research comes as antibiotic-resistant infections become increasingly difficult to treat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug-resistant bacteria pose an “urgent threat” to public health.
Understanding how bacteria survive the body’s immune defenses and antibiotic treatment, and identifying new ways to stop them, is a driving force behind Tang’s research.
“What drives me is that scientists can focus on specific questions and discover new pathways and mechanisms that may later become drug targets or lead to new treatments for disease,” Tang said. “I also like training students and young scientists because it takes generations of scientists working together to understand how diseases occur and how to treat them. Passing that knowledge on is important for improving public health.”
Tang added that UTA is a “great place” to conduct research, noting the University has held R1 status from the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education since 2015. She also highlighted opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in the Department of Biology and College of Science.
“The support from everyone here at UTA really makes a difference,” Tang said.