From his first class in microbiology from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, in 2019, to becoming one of the leading graduate student scientists at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, Jeremiah Adesanya is on the rise with research to discover novel antibiotics against drug-resistant bacteria.
Antimicrobial or antibiotic resistance occurs when germs and bacteria develop shields to drugs administered to kill them. This situation has now become a global public health emergency because of this rapid increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were responsible for about five million deaths globally in 2019, according to the United States of America’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That number keeps rising drastically.
Adesanya who is currently completing his Master’s program at the Wildschutte lab at Bowling Green State University in the US says that big pharmaceutical companies are not doing enough to further research in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) but notes that his research focus is centered on finding novel antibiotics from bacteria around us.
“It is not news anymore that we are heading into a major public health crisis caused by resistant pathogens. Current research work cuts across applied microbiology, molecular biology, and biotechnology areas. Currently, no big pharmaceutical company is involved in research to find new antibiotics hence there is no new antibiotic to reduce the rate of antibiotic resistance. My research aims to find novel antibiotics from bacteria which are found in our environment to contribute a new source of treatment and reduce the rate of resistance.” Says Adesanya.
In 2022, the globally renowned medical journal, The Lancet published its research on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) with a warning for Nigeria and West Africa. According to The Lancet, Western Sub-Saharan Africa recorded the most amount of this deadly impact with 27.3 deaths per 100 000 (20.9–35.3) attributable to AMR and 114.8 deaths per 100 000 (90.4–145.3) associated with AMR. Adesanya corroborates the future consequences of this report if nothing urgent is done.
“It is predicted that deaths attributed to resistant infection could be as high as 10 million worldwide per year if nothing is done to prevent it. One of the means to remedy this public health crisis is to prepare new forms of treatments which is the primary goal of my research. Several other forms of treatment such as bacteriophage therapy are also being explored to contribute a solution,” he said,
“One of the major life-threatening diseases in Nigeria and Africa is typhoid fever and Staphylococcus infection. The causative agent of these infections are resistant to multiple antibiotics; hence it is imperative to find a new treatment which is one of my long-term goals. It is also important to sensitize the general population to the need for antibiotic stewardship to curb the rate of pathogen resistance. And while my current research is funded by the US National Institute of Health, further down the line, several trials are done before a drug is legally accepted as a means of treatment, which will require funding,” Adesanya added.
On his inspiration and what drives his motivation for research in this area, Jeremiah Adesanya says he has made it his life goal to contribute to reducing illness and deaths caused by pathogens, particularly those caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Nigeria and globally.
“My goal is to contribute to medical research which aims to alleviate sufferings attributed to pathogens, especially those resistant to multiple antibiotics. I am also very enthused about teaching. I aim to contribute to teaching and mentorship to pass my knowledge and expertise to the coming generation.
Jeremiah Adesanya who recently finished top three in Bowling Green State University’s three-minute thesis competition was also nominated in 2022 for the Winifred O. Stone outstanding graduate student award for his research excellence. (What if you have that “he has also won a series of other awards such as the Donald C. Cox Award for Research Excellence, issued at Ohio State University by the American Society for Microbiology).
