NMU to partner with Micro Imaging Technology to research staph, MRSA infections

Staph infections are the bane of every modern hospital, not to mention schools and practically any other place where a lot of people congregate. The latest enemy, you've probably heard, is MRSA, a strain of staph bacteria that is resistant to conventional treatments. 

 

Northern Michigan University's biology department is undertaking a research effort in cooperation with California-based Micro Imaging Technology, Inc. to expand on the company's existing technology in order to--quickly and cheaply--identify and differentiate between your typical staphylococcus aureus bacteria and MRSA.

 

In fact, Micro Imaging's cell-based identification system for health threats takes just three minutes to ID an infection. The challenge that NMU scientists will be taking on is how to apply that to staph infections.

 

"Being able to quickly identify if a patient has an S. aureus infection, and whether or not that S. aureus is MRSA, a strain of S. aureus resistant to certain antibiotics, would be extremely useful in dictating the proper course of treatment for that patient, and ultimately increase the likelihood of a successful patient outcome," says Josh Sharp, Ph.D., an assistant professor in biology at NMU.

 

Right now, the partnership is gathering preliminary data and developing research proposals that NMU and Micro Imaging can submit for funding to begin the research.