Dartmouth engineering sciences major Jack Kirsch '17 was awarded The Mazilu Engineering Research Fellowship for 2016–2017. The award will support Kirsch's work with Professor Karl Griswold toward developing novel antibiotics — in line with his life's goal "to improve the lives of others through biotechnology."

Jack Kirsch '17

"I am truly honored to be selected as this year's Mazilu Fellow," says Kirsch, "and thankful to the Mazilu family for recognizing the need for further research into antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. As the number of community acquired bacterial infections that are resistant to conventional antibiotics steadily increases, so does the need for novel antibiotics. Some naturally occurring bacteriolytic enzymes show promise as antimicrobials with potential clinical applications. My work will further explore the properties of a lysostaphin variant developed within the Griswold Lab. Specifically, I will be determining the ability of certain bacterial strains to develop resistance to the engineered lysostaphin."

"The Mazilu Fellowship provides a fantastic opportunity to engage talented undergraduates in pursuit of advanced research," says Professor Griswold, "and Thayer is fortunate to be able to offer such an opportunity to our top students. It’s exactly these types of experiences that can spark a lifelong passion for technology innovation and translation. Jack has proven himself to be a creative, curious, and driven student in both the classroom and the laboratory, and I’m excited to have this chance to continue working with him on what we believe to be a high impact project: development of antibacterial biotherapies."