Enlighten Me: UD researchers may have found a way to fight antibiotic resistance

October 17, 2026 admin 11 Views 0 Comments

Published October 16, 2026 at 9:00 AM EDT

Evan Krape

University of Delaware – Photographic Services

Associate Professors of Medical and Molecular Sciences Vijay Parashar (center) and Mona Batish (right), along with undergraduate student Leif Boddie, are among the authors of a new paper which provides insights into antibiotic resistance in Firmicutes bacteria and possible new targets for therapeutic drugs. The work was funded by a $1.7M NIH grant.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria is a growing problem in the world. World Health Organization projections have it becoming on par with — or an even bigger killer — than cancer.

But two University of Delaware researchers recently found one way these superbugs can survive antibiotics, opening the door to fight back against antibiotic resistance.

In this edition of Enlighten Me, Delaware Public Media’s Joe Irizarry spoke with University of Delaware associate professors of medical and molecular sciences Vijay Parashar and Mona Batish about their findings.

Enlighten Me: Antibiotic Resistance

DPM’s Joe Irizarry spoke to UD’s Mona Batish and Vijay Parashar about their new research on antibiotic resistant bacteria.