Research in the Hobbs Lab is primarily focused on the bacterial phenomenon of antibiotic tolerance. Tolerance describes the ability of a bacterial population to survive transient exposure to an otherwise lethal concentration of antibiotic without exhibiting resistance. Unlike resistance, tolerance is not detected by routine susceptibility testing performed in clinical microbiology labs. For this reason, we have very little information on the prevalence and significance of tolerance in relation to clinical isolates and antibiotic treatment outcomes. However, tolerance is known to be a contributing factor in persistent and recurrent infections, which have higher mortality rates and healthcare costs than resolving infections.

Using a combination of bacterial genetics, clinical microbiology, genomics, analytical biochemistry and enzymology, our research aims to answer the following questions:

• How common is antibiotic tolerance among clinical isolates of bacteria?
• What are the molecular mechanisms underlying tolerance in clinical isolates?
• Does in vitro tolerance translate into antibiotic treatment failures in vivo, and are some antibiotics/antibiotic combinations better at clearing tolerant infections than other?
• Do tolerance mutations contribute to the development, expression and dissemination of antibiotic resistance?
• Can we reverse tolerance and resensitise tolerant bacteria to existing antibiotics using chemical inhibitors?

For more information, visit our lab website (www.hobbs-lab.co.uk).