Antibiotic Research: In the World of the Underground
Abstract
The CDC estimates that 30% of all antibiotics prescribed in outpatient clinics are
unnecessary. However, many people do not have this knowledge, which has brought us to such
an outbreak of antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is when the bacteria has the
ability to change in response to these medicines and fight back against them. Now more than
ever, we need to be researching and finding more ways to beat this problem. That’s why what
my classmates and I are doing is so important. We joined up with the Small World initiative and
the Tiny Earth Program to try and bring more knowledge to students and the community. With
these two programs, we are focused on finding antibiotic discoveries from soil. We performed
serial dilution and platings of our bacteria to initially find antibiotic-producing bacteria. Then we
selected performed multiple tests to choose the best bacteria within our cultures. These tests
include: pick and patch testing, simple, gram and negative stain, selective and differential
media and then biochemical tests. The results are what gives us information about the bacteria
and potentially what kind of antibiotic could be grown from it.
Poster
micro final poster Samantha Palacz
Presentation
micro final poster presentation Sami Palacz
For Sami’s Presentation, please download the above file, put into slide show and press the play button in the center of the page.
Mini Bio
My name is Samantha Palacz. I am a freshman at Penn State Schuylkill. My major is nursing. I would like to specialize in pediatrics. I enjoy being out in nature, specifically snow. I also like sports and animals.