16:00
Birkbeck
June 12
Birkbeck Clore Management Centre
Tackling Drug-Resistant Mycobacterial Infections: The Need for Urgent Action
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is making it increasingly difficult to treat infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), leprosy, and other mycobacterial infections linked to asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease, Johne's disease. Mycobacteria pose a unique challenge due to their ability to enter a dormant state, evade the immune system, and develop extreme drug resistance. The treatment is even more complex in TB-HIV co-infections, particularly among immunocompromised patients. To tackle this growing crisis, we must accelerate the development of new and more effective treatments.
For over 25 years, Professor Sanjib Bhakta has been focussing on discovery research to understand how infectious bacteria cause disease and develop resistance to treatment. After training in India, he built his career in UK academia, working in Oxford and London. His work bridges fundamental scientific discovery with real-world applications, driving innovation through interdisciplinary home and international collaborations. A dedicated mentor, he has guided many students from undergraduate study to leadership roles in research.
Professor Bhakta’s investigation focuses on the metabolic processes that help mycobacteria survive and resist antibiotics. His research group identifies key enzymes and metabolites that could be targeted for new treatments, repurposing existing drugs to enhance their effectiveness against drug-resistant mycobacterial infections. His research findings have achieved significant breakthroughs, discovering diverse classes of antibacterial lead molecules, such as novel quinolones, pyridine-N-oxides, quinolines, host-defence peptides, pyrazolines, pyrroles and carbazoles, while investigating their mechanisms of antibiotic action and synergistic effects with FDA-approved drugs already available to treat various disease conditions. Part of these advances in his laboratory is the development of several whole-cell phenotypic assays and target-based assays, which played significant roles in the discovery of novel drug leads. Through this work, Professor Bhakta’s team has paved the way for new therapeutic strategies, offering hope in the fight against drug-resistant mycobacterial diseases.
Professor Bhakta’s Mycobacteria Research Laboratory (MRL) at Birkbeck’s School of Natural Sciences, part of the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB) and UCL-TB, a WHO Collaborating Centre for TB Research and Innovation, has been at the forefront of this fight against TB.
Sanjib Bhakta is a Molecular Microbiologist and Biochemist specialising in novel therapeutics and drug repurposing to combat antibiotic resistance and persistence in tuberculosis (TB) and related infectious bacterial diseases. He has published over 120 research articles in leading journals, including.
Following a BSc (Hons), an MSc and a PhD in Molecular Microbiology & Biochemistry from leading Universities & Research Institutions in India, Dr Bhakta joined the Oxford University Division of Medical Sciences as an Oxford University Innovation Senior Research Scholar and shortly after he was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship. He graduated from The Queen’s College, University of Oxford completing a second doctoral degree (DPhil in Pharmacology) and received a “Sir William Paton Prize” from the Oxford University Division of Medical Sciences.
He attained his first academic appointment (2006) at the ISMB as a University Lecturer and was promoted to Senior Lecturer, Reader and then full Professor in 2019. He has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK since 2008 after achieving a PGCHE from the University of London. To date, he has supervised several PhD students, post-doctoral scientists, a UNESCO-L’Oréal “Women in Science” Fellow, an ERS-International Fellow, an ICMR-International Fellow, an ASEM-DUO Fellow in his Laboratory. He was awarded a Cipla Distinguished Fellowship in Pharmaceutical Sciences and an ASEM-DUO Professorial Fellowship. His original research on tackling AMR in TB was published in Nature Scientific Report (top 100 most-read articles in 2018) and was featured in BBC Health News and VetTimes, Professor Bhakta is a Steering Group member of the ISMB and UCL-TB and a member of the NTM Network UK and Acid Fast Club, UK.
He is a Chief Editor of Frontiers in Antibiotics. As a UKRI STEM ambassador, Professor Bhakta has volunteered for the Wellcome Trust-funded programme “Researchers in Residence”, a winner of “I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here” 2017, participated in the British Science Museum “News & Views” programme, the winner of a Microbiology Society Outreach Prize, and winner of the Dissertation Supervisor of the Year 2024. In addition, most recently, Prof Bhakta’s research on Persian Shallots was filmed for Channel 4’s popular programme “Food Unwrapped”, and his lab was also featured in The Royal Society of Biology’s termly magazine: ‘The Biologist’.
This inaugural lecture will be followed by a drinks reception in the Clore foyer.