Martha Akle Asare is my name, a postgraduate student finalizing my Masters of Philosophy in Molecular cell biology of infectious diseases at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, a centre of CAMO-Net, located at the Department of Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Ghana, Legon. As part of my training as an early career scientist, I was privileged to participate and present a scientific poster at the just ended British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) Spring conference on the 15th and 16th of May, 2025 in Birmingham, UK. This conference was organized by BSAC, one of four conferences organized annually. BSAC conferences focus on exploring cutting-edge research, connecting participants with global experts, and helping shape the future of our response to Anti-microbial resistance (AMR), a global health emergency. My poster presentation was on HSD 1624, a small molecule compound found to synergize colistin against multidrug resistant bacteria. The data from this study proved that repurposing of antibiotics like colistin is a great strategy to combat the growing issue of AMR globally.
My general experience at my first international conference was surreal. The event took place at the International Convention Centre, a state-of-the-art facility with highly professional staff to assist all visitors. This was a hybrid conference hence equipment was set up to enable the online audience follow the proceedings each day. The flow was easy, timed and cool. Overall, the conference consisted of 14 sessions. After registration at the reception and coffee, the event kickstarted with a welcome address from BSAC president, Professor Andrew Seaton. Generally, talks by presenters focused on vaccines and phage therapy, new antibiotics, antibiotic stewardship, Antibiotic susceptibility testing, bacterial infections diagnosis, Delinkage model and control of antibiotic use by the Pharmacy. Additionally, there were invited lectures on Fungal infections, Conflict and AMR, Faecal Matter Transplant (FMT) and Biocides.
Poster presentations took place during routinely scheduled coffee and lunch breaks. It was during those times that I had interactions with participants from different parts of the world during the poster presentation. I also learn from other poster presenters on drug discovery and AMR related studies. Coffee session was interesting as it provides opportunity for networking and collaborations. Also, biotechnology companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific were present to interact with participants on the latest developments. The highlight of this event for me was placing 1st for Best Poster and this meant I get a free registration for the next BSAC conference in October. My participation in the BSAC Spring conference aligns with my future career objective of becoming a Principal Investigator. I aim to go full time into drug discovery for bacterial infections especially those associated or attributed to AMR. In order to achieve this, I would need to gain proficiency in research data presentation and scientific communication to better prepare me to apply for a PhD position.
I will like to acknowledge the unwavering support of my supervisors, Dr. Abiola Isawumi and Professor Herman O. Sintim as well as AMR Group at WACCBIP for the training and encouragements. I am thankful to West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) and DAAD Germany for research support and funding. Finally, I would like to thank CAMO-Net for the travel fellowship and BSAC for the opportunity.
