Degree-defining experience opportunity: (starting Spring 2026)
Our goal is to identify new antibiotics that can be used to treat bacterial infections, while simultaneously providing hands-on experience for Microbiology majors in drug discovery.
Introduction of antibiotics into the clinic in the 1950s had a dramatic impact on morbidity and mortality from bacterial infections. The discovery of penicillin kicked off the golden age of antibiotic discovery when almost all antibiotic classes used today were identified. However, very few new antibiotics have been approved since 1990, leading to an antibiotic discovery void. There are several reasons for this, including the poor return on investment for antibiotic drug discovery, the need for antibiotic stewardship, and current policies that devalue antibiotics. The problem with this discovery void is that bacterial pathogens are becoming more and more resistant to existing antibiotics, referred to as antibiotic resistance (AR). In 2019, more than one million people died from AR infections worldwide. Unless new therapies are approved, by 2050 there may be more deaths from AR infections per year than from cancer and diabetes combined.
We will be recruiting Microbiology majors to assist in a new antibiotic drug discovery effort in collaboration with the UCSC Chemical Screening Center. This opportunity will be available to UCSC undergraduate students who have completed or are currently taking METX 100 Introduction to Microbiology. Students will be selected through an interview process. The program will begin April 2026 and run through Spring quarter with the possibility of continuing on into the summer.
If you are interested in applying for this opportunity, please email (i) a cover letter, (ii) resume or CV, and (iii) an unofficial transcript to Dr. Auerbuch Stone at vastone@ucsc.edu by 3/1/26.
Dr. Auerbuch Stone teaches the following courses:
METX 112 Immunity and Infection
METX 238 Pathogenesis: Molecular Mechanisms of Disease