Center for Anti-Infectives & Biotechnology (C.R.A.B.)
The Center for Research in Anti-Infectives and Biotechnology (C.R.A.B.) is an association of researchers within the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University School of Medicine. The research focus of the Center and its collaborators involves many aspects of antimicrobial chemotherapy including (i) drug discovery to molecular mechanisms of antibacterial resistance, (ii) elucidation of molecular mechanisms of antibacterial resistance, (iii) solving problems regarding the detection of antimicrobial resistance in the clinical laboratory both phenotypically and through molecular detection, (iv) assessment of new drugs and novel drug combinations to effectively treat resistant bacteria, (v) epidemiological typing for bacterial strain characterization related to therapeutic efficiency, and (vi) immunological investigation of host response.
The members of the Center include specialists in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, and molecular biology. In addition to research endeavors, members of CRAB are active in teaching many courses within the schools of medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy/allied health. Courses taught include bacterial physiology, medical microbiology and immunology, antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, diagnostic microbiology and molecular detction of clinical isolates and their resistance mechanisms.
Faculty within the Center teach a summer ”minicourse” on antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy to clinical microbiologists and diagnostic or pharmaceutical industry professionals. For more information on this summer course please contact Dr. Hanson at 402.280.5837 or follow the link above.
Determination of Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms
The Center also offers a reference service for the phenotypic and/or molecular confirmation of difficult to detect Gram-negative resistance mechanisms such as KPC, MBL, AmpC and ESBL testing. In addition, the Center offers services in molecular diagnostics, Sanger and whole genome sequencing, plasmid profiles, gene copy number, cloning, Southern and Western analyses, outer membrane protein evaluation, pulsed field gel electrophoresis, and other epidemiological typing methodologies. Please contact the Center (402-280-5837) for pricing and turn-around times.