Shyam Mishra
Name: Shyam Kumar Mishra (Baishnab)
Research Title: Development of Biologically Responsive Biomaterials Against Bacterial Colonisation
Supervisors: Prof. Mark Willcox, Dr. Edgar Hoe Hon Wong, Dr. Alex Hui
Research
Globally, there has been rapid emergence of antimicrobial resistance, contributing to 700,000 patient deaths every year. This situation is expected to worsen in the future with 10 million deaths per year at a cumulative global cost of $100 trillion estimated by 2050. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of antibiotic-resistant “priority pathogens” for research and development of new antibiotics including the “ESKAPE” pathogens: carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacteriaceae and others. These microbes are often associated with device-associated infections (DAIs) and are non-responsive to traditional antibiotics.
In medical science, biomaterials are used extensively to augment or restore function, and replace tissue. Antimicrobial coatings of device surfaces are required to prevent bacterial colonisation and DAIs. To address this, one of the strategies is the use of cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as coatings for biomaterials. However, AMPs are susceptible to proteases found in blood or other body fluids. Therefore, development of mimetics of AMPs resistant to proteases as novel anti-infective agents with increased bioavailability is a promising tool in the scientific arena.
Peptoids are non-natural mimics of polypeptides containing poly-N-substituted glycine residues. My research focuses on immobilisation of peptoids on surfaces, and characterizing their mode of action in preventing microbial colonisation on biomaterials. This research will also explore synergy between these peptoids and available antibiotics to combat extensively drug resistant bacteria.
Biography
Shyam completed his MS in Medical Laboratory Sciences Microbiology from the Institute of Medicine, Nepal in 2009. For the next ten years he held a lecturing position at the Institute and during this time had the opportunity to work as a foreign guest researcher in the stem cell biology laboratory of Ehime University in Japan. In 2019, Shyam received the UNSW Scientia PhD scholarship and started his interdisciplinary postgraduate journey under the supervision of Professor Mark Willcox, Dr. Edgar Hoe Hon Wong and Dr. Alex Hui. Shyam’s PhD project focuses on different aspects of peptoids, particularly their antimicrobial activity against selected microbes.
Education
Year |
Degree |
Institution
|
|
Current |
PhD Candidate |
University of New South Wales, Australia |
|
2009 |
MSc MLT Microbiology |
Institute of Medicine (IOM), Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal |
|
2004 |
Bachelor in Medical Laboratory Technology (BMLT) |
IOM, TU, Nepal
|
|
Awards
2019 - Scientia Scholarship for PhD – UNSW (Australia)
2018 - Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America - International Ambassadors Award (USA)
2016 - ASMCUE Leadership grant for international educators for outstanding contribution in Undergraduate Microbiology teaching (USA)
2011 – Nepal Bidya Bhusan Padak “KHA” award from the President of Nepal for standing first place in Postgraduate education
2009 - Second Best Paper Presentation in Research Conference on Health Science, IOM
2008 – Nepal Bidya Bhusan Padak “GA” award from the President of Nepal for standing first place in Undergraduate education
1994 – Third place in the ninth National Essay Competition (Nepal Red Cross Society)
Conference attendance
2019 – European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) - Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018 – Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of American (SHEA) Spring Conference – Oregon, USA
2018 – American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbe 2018, in Atlanta, USA
2018 – Workshop on Advanced bioanalytical methods and applications organized by the Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, India
2016 - American Society for Microbiology Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE) - Maryland, USA
2016- 17th International Congress on Infectious Diseases (ICID) - Hyderabad, India
2015 - 10th International Symposium on Antimicrobial agents and resistance (ISAAR) - Incheon, Korea
2014 - 32nd World Congress of Internal Medicine (WCIM) - Seoul, Korea
2012 - 15th International Congress on Infectious Diseases (ICID) in Bangkok, Thailand
2012- 6th Ditan International Conference of Infectious Diseases in Beijing, China.
2008 – 5th National Conference on Science and Technology, Kathmandu, Nepal
2004 – 1st SAARC Conference on TB, HIV/AIDS and Respiratory Diseases – Kathmandu, Nepal
2004 - 1st International Conference of Medical Laboratory Sciences - Kathmandu, Nepal
Affiliations and memberships
Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery (International Advisory Board)
American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP)
British Infection Association (BIA)
International Society of Infectious Diseases (ISID)
Nepal Health Professional Council (NHPC)
Nepal Association for Medical Laboratory Sciences (NAMLS)
Nepal Medical Laboratory Students' Society (President, 2006-2007)
- Publications