Finding by WCM-Q students proposes solutions for antimicrobial resistance

Four students from Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar (WCM-Q) are named as joint first co-authors on a perspective paper proposing microbiome-based solutions to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

They were guided by their supervisor, Dr Ghizlane Bendriss, assistant professor of biology at WCM-Q, who is the lead author of the paper. The paper has been published in Frontiers in Microbiomes, a leading scientific journal.

Students Ali al-Kuwari, Hamad al-Karbi, Abdulla al-Khuzaei and Dounia Baroudi conducted the study in response to an announcement at the 7th edition of the World Innovation Summit for Health, held in November 2024, which emphasised that tackling AMR was a national priority.

The perspective paper discusses several strategies to address the loss of diversity caused by antibiotics, including diet, probiotics, fecal transplants (FMT), and the fermentation of animal and plant products.

Preliminary findings from an experiment with camel milk fermentation suggest that fermentation increases microbial diversity, enhances microbiome resilience, and potentially reduces resistance to common antibiotics like tetracycline, streptomycin, penicillin, and chloramphenicol.

The increase of diversity allows the microbiome to naturally resist pathogens without additional antibiotic use.

Dr Bendriss said: “Over the past four decades, antibiotic innovation and approvals have sharply declined, with annual FDA approvals dropping from about three in the 1980s to barely one today, the share of new antibiotics falling from 20% to 6% of drug approvals, and almost no truly new classes emerging since the mid-20th century.

To effectively address AMR, we really need to completely shift our strategy. Microbes already possess a natural ability to fight one another by competing for nutrients and by producing antimicrobial metabolites.

Therefore, I believe that microbiome-based solutions such as probiotics or FMT can offer the most sustainable alternative to traditional pharmaceutical interventions.”

Additionally, the paper discusses a mechanistic model to underscore the importance of maintaining microbial balance as an effective strategy for mitigating AMR and promoting long-term health.

Further research is, however, still needed to better understand the mechanisms behind these changes and their implications for public health.

Student al-Kuwari said: “This project deepened my understanding of the microbial world and introduced me to the boundless potential of microbiome-based approaches in tackling real-world health challenges.

With antimicrobial resistance becoming an increasingly urgent global concern, contributing to research that explores innovative, targeted solutions has been both timely and meaningful.”

Fellow student Baroudi said: “Through this research, I realised that fighting harmful bacteria isn’t just about using more antibiotics; sometimes, it’s about finding better ways to restore and encourage a healthy balance of microbes.

This research focuses on identifying sustainable approaches, like fermentation and restoring microbial balance, as innovative ways to nurture microbial ecosystems and offer new hope against the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.”