Outreach: Antibiotics Unearthed goes back to the forest

Citizen science project travels the UK

After a successful series of pop-up events in August 2015, the Antibiotics Unearthed Team were out at Forestry Commission sites again this summer, crowdsourcing for new antibiotics.

“It is a privilege to be able to involve the public in the hunt for new antibiotics as part of my PhD. Their overwhelming support is encouraging in the face of antibiotic resistance.”
Ethan Drury, PhD student Antibiotics Unearthed

Antibiotics Unearthed, inspired by the Small World Initiative in the USA, gives the general public, students and educators in the UK and Ireland the opportunity to work with scientists as part of a global initiative to discover new antibiotics from soil bacteria. The pop-up events encourage members of the public to get engaged with the topic of antibiotic resistance and be involved in research looking for new drugs.

This summer we visited two Forestry Commission sites: Garwnant Visitor Centre in the Brecon Beacons and Kielder Castle Forest Park in Northumberland. People visiting the event could take a sampling kit around the forest with them, collect a soil sample and prepare a spread plate of their sample when they returned to see the bacteria present in the soil, before depositing the sample in our soil bank, which was then sent to the University of East Anglia for analysis.

Visitors to the stand were welcomed by a team of expert volunteers, who talked with them about searching for new antibiotics in the soil, the methods used to look for new medicines and the threat of antibiotic resistance. We also had microscopes on the stand with plates containing mixed soil communities, and several strains of Streptomyces, which are the source of many antibiotics in common use, kindly provided by Dr Paul Hoskisson at the University of Strathclyde.

Three hundred samples were submitted by visitors to the forests, who are being kept up-to-date with the analysis of the samples at the University of East Anglia via email and social media. Ethan Drury, a PhD student match-funded by the Society and based at the UEA, is analysing the samples to look for new antibiotics. He also carried out detailed interviews with visitors to the event, as part of his research into best practice of public engagement and measuring the impact of long-term engagement with scientific research.

All ages of visitors enjoyed collecting their sample, and prepping it ready for further analysis. We are really pleased to see the enthusiasm from people who are following the analysis online. Results of the experiments have been shared on the Society’s website and social media. Even if you didn’t manage to join us in the forests, please check out the website and Facebook page and see if you can spot any potential antibiotics on our samples.

If you would like to find out more about the project, please contact the Antibiotics Unearthed Team.

Hear from one of our volunteers about the project

I’m an undergraduate studying a Microbiology BSc in Aberystwyth University. Previously, I worked from home running my own small business while also raising my children. I’ve returned to study as a mature student to change my career path. I’m interested in pathogens and natural products and I’m planning to do a PhD once I’ve completed my degree.

When I first heard about the Microbiology Society’s citizen science project to try to find new antibiotics I was intrigued. I really like the idea of getting ordinary people involved in this important issue. For the Small World Initiative, I researched and presented a poster on a technique with the potential use for antimicrobial discovery that is easy, fast and accessible to the public. This was a great experience and it was wonderful to hear all the informative talks, read the posters from the other students and to build my own confidence in presenting.

The Antibiotics Unearthed pop-up event was also really enjoyable. I volunteered because I wanted to gain more experience as well as continue to help with the project. It was nice to be doing something outdoors in a different environment. It was an opportunity to meet other volunteers interested in antibiotic discovery from a variety of backgrounds too.

It was a family-friendly couple of days, with children and adults of all ages engaging. It was good to be involved and learn from people how much they understood and whether they were aware of the problem of resistance and the need for new drugs. I like the way the event brought together members of the public, students and professionals with a wide range of levels of expertise and interests to share.

Promoting awareness and understanding of the issue of antibiotic resistance is essential. Being involved in communicating this through public engagement has been a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience.

ELEANOR FURNESS

The Antibiotics Unearthed Team would like to thank the Forestry Commission, and especially Brian Prosser at Garwnant and Jennifer Watson at Kielder Castle, for hosting us. Thanks to Dr Paul Hoskisson for providing plates of Streptomyces cultures for the stand; and Professor Laura Bowater, Dr Richard Bowater, Dr David Whitworth and Professor Nigel Brown for volunteering on the stand. We would also like to thank all of our volunteers for giving up their time to come and engage with the public and making the events such a success!

www.microbiologysociety.org/AntibioticsUnearthed
www.facebook.com/antibioticsunearthed
@MicrobioSoc #AntibioticsUnearthed

THERESA HUDSON

Education and Outreach Manager
[email protected]