Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Brigham & Women's Hospital Inc. (Department of Faulkner Pathology) received a $171,046 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), effective April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2031. The award supports a research and career development initiative to develop a transposon-based gene drive (TNDrive) technology designed to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a critical public health threat responsible for over 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths annually in the United States. The research targets E. coli ST131, a globally disseminated pathogen driving epidemic AMR spread.

Under this award, Dr. Basta will deliver research services focused on optimizing TNDrive by enhancing plasmid transmission through bacterial populations and improving antimicrobial resistance gene elimination. The research deliverables include identifying and circumventing bacterial defenses to plasmid spread, evaluating alternative plasmid carriers for improved environmental and in vivo efficacy, multiplexing targeting guides for highly efficient resistance gene inactivation, and establishing design rules to minimize off-target effects. Preliminary proof-of-concept work demonstrated that TNDrive spread to virtually all bacterial cells within one day and eliminated targeted AMR genes from over 99% of the population. This five-year project represents NIAID's investment in novel therapeutic approaches to address the urgent clinical and public health challenge of antimicrobial resistance.