Dr. Rybak receives nearly $3.4 million NIH R01 award to advance innovative strategies for treating drug-resistant infections

DETROIT - The Anti-Infective Research Laboratory led by Michael J. Rybak, Pharm.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., at Wayne State University's Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (EACPHS) has received a five-year, $3,398,327 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to advance innovative strategies for treating antibiotic-resistant infections.

Rybak, professor and faculty member in the Department of Pharmacy, is nationally recognized for advancing antimicrobial therapies through translational research that connects laboratory science and patient care. The award reflects continued federal investment in combating antimicrobial resistance, a significant public health priority.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains a serious and common threat in health care settings and communities nationwide. Although first line antibiotics such as vancomycin and daptomycin are established treatments, therapeutic failures still occur, underscoring the need for alternative and complementary approaches.

The Rybak laboratory is investigating bacteriophages, viruses that selectively target and kill bacteria, as a promising nontraditional strategy for resistant infections. As phage-based therapies move toward clinical use, they are increasingly combined with conventional antibiotics, though the full impact of these combinations is not fully understood.

Rybak and his team bring expertise in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) and combination therapy design to evaluate how bacteriophages and antibiotics interact. Their goal is to identify regimens that enhance bacterial killing, reduce resistance and improve patient outcomes.

A central component of the research is the laboratory's advanced simulated endocardial vegetation PK/PD model, which recreates heart infections in controlled experimental settings. The model allows researchers to study antibiotic-phage combinations under conditions that closely mirror human disease, accelerating translation into future clinical trials.

"The work by Dr. Rybak and his team is helping to redefine how we approach some of the most difficult-to-treat infections in modern medicine," said Susan Davis, associate dean of pharmacy and clinical professor at EACPHS. "This award exemplifies the strength of our faculty's expertise in developing solutions to combat antimicrobial resistance."

"This award highlights the extraordinary strength of our faculty and the translational research environment at Wayne State," said Christine Rabinak, Ph.D., M.B.A., associate dean of research and professor at EACPHS. "Dr. Rybak's work exemplifies how rigorous laboratory science can be integrated with clinical insight to address one of the most pressing challenges in modern medicine: antimicrobial resistance. We are proud to see this internationally recognized program continue to lead the development of innovative strategies that have the potential to transform how serious infections are treated."

"Dr. Rybak's research is critical to helping find new solutions to address antibiotic resistance," said Ezemenari M. Obasi, Ph.D., vice president for research & innovation at Wayne State University. "This funding from the National Institutes of Health will aid in developing new strategies for treating MRSA and other infections. I look forward to the impact this research will have in our community and beyond."

Collaborators on this grant include Michael R. Yeaman, M.S., Ph.D. and Yan Qiong Xiong, M.D., Ph.D. of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Susan M. Lehman, Ph.D. of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Research reported in this press release was supported by theNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01AI189760.

The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu.

To learn more about research at EACPHS, visit applebaum.wayne.edu.