Kyle Card and Jasper Gomez on Mentoring and Antibiotic Resistance

On this week’s The Sci-Files, your hosts Chelsie and Danny interview Kyle Card and Jasper Gomez.

Kyle is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program. His mentee, Jasper, is a recent graduate from the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program. They use bacteria from a long-term experiment to study how evolution in an antibiotic-free environment affects bacteria’s potential to gain resistance when these drugs are introduced. They focus on the role that strain genetic context plays in resistance evolution, with particular attention to patterns of repeatability and contingency in this process. Their future goal is to translate their findings to a clinical setting to slow the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections and improve patient treatment. Also, both Kyle and Jasper are from underrepresented minority groups; a status that has greatly enriched their mentorship relationship.   

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