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Erick Bourassa, Ph.D.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium responsible for gonorrhea infection, causes a reported 300,000 cases each year in the United States, although the actual incidence is likely closer to 750,000 cases per year. Until recently, a single dose of a penicillin or a macrolide antibiotic was curative. In recent years, a number of cases of untreatable gonorrhea have been reported and the CDC currently recommends only one drug for the treatment of gonorrhea due to antibiotic resistance. The mechanism(s) by which N. gonorrhoeae has developed this antibiotic resistance in recent years is unknown. My current research efforts are focused on understanding how N. gonorrhoeae has developed this antibiotic resistance and developing strategies to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance in N. gonorrhoeae.

Website: https://www.mc.edu/faculty/eabourassa