MSA-Master Award 2024

Patricia Blum, MSc (AG Horz) has received the MSA-Master Award 2024 for her master’s thesis „Investigation of putative phage-encoded depolymerases targeting Klebsiella pneumoniae“. The profile area Molecular Science and Engineering (MSE) is one of eight profile areas at the RWTH and comprises the disciplines of chemistry, biology, process engineering, medicine and mechanical engineering.

Given the increasing number of infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria, Patricia Blum addressed in her master’s thesis a very important and topical research question. Bacteriophages (phages for short), the natural enemies of bacteria, represent a glimmer of hope for coping with the ever-increasing antibiotic crises. While phage therapy has not yet been officially approved in the Western world, phage-encoded depolymerases hold great promise as adjunct therapy to antibiotics, thereby circumventing all complicated regulatory issues. Patricia Blum focused on depolymerases with high specificity towards Klebsiella pneumoniae, one of the most prominent nosocomial pathogens. She investigated phage-resistance evolution, cloned and expressed two putative depolymerases followed by their in-depth characterization. Her work is part of a paper published in a peer review journal with Patricia Blum as second author (doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199417). Furthermore, she presented her work as oral presentation at the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) in the year 2023. Congratulations Patricia!