Dr Enea Sancho-Vaello has been appointed as a Marie Sklodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr Jessica Blair, Institute of Microbiology and Infection.
Dr Enea Sancho-Vaello
Dr Enea Sancho-Vaello has been appointed as a Marie Sklodowska- Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr Jessica Blair, Institute of Microbiology and Infection.
I consider myself to be a 'broad-spectrum' protein structure biologist, having worked on a diverse
range of biomedical projects in four different laboratories. I have worked with soluble proteins
(enzymes of the urea cycle and chitinases), but also with integral membrane proteins (M.tuberculosis
cell envelope biosynthesis enzymes and Salmonella PhoQ) and antimicrobial peptides. Throughout my
career, I have gained expertise in protein crystallization and biophysical techniques.
Without a doubt, obtaining the Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship has been one of the most important achievements in my scientific career to date. Applying to this fellowship was an important milestone, since I could use my acquired knowledge to propose a new line of investigation. To receive the support of the Horizon 2020 programme in order to undertake this project is extremely motivating to me.
I was interested in working at the Institute of Microbiology and Infection due to the great scientific quality of the work one in the antibiotic resistance field. For this step of my career, I was looking for a place where I could develop my research but also somewhere offering a positive scientific atmosphere for learning and
collaboration.
I am eager to find out if the ideas that we are proposing lead us in the right direction in our understanding of efflux regulation. The first step of the project is cloning and purifying the protein I will be working on. I am looking forward to completing this step so that I can get started on the interesting biophysical experiments using the rational designed inhibitors.
In the next five years, I am sure that Dr Blair´s group is going to be in a leading position in the field of
efflux pump research. This emerging group has very motivated members and their high scientific level
stimulates the continued progress of the group. Regarding the project, I hope to obtain interesting
results in order to become an independent researcher and to continue working in the antibiotic
resistance field.
I think that we have the potential to develop new drugs to fight MDR and XDR strains, but we need the financial support to perform our research. In my opinion, it is mandatory to increase the investment in the area of antibiotic resistance research, since it entails a serious threat to global public health. On the other hand, I am aware that life always finds a way, especially bacteria. Controlling and treating these dangerous strains is not going to be easy, but I am optimistic that we will find a solution.
