Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to global health and demands urgent action. In recent decades, the overuse and misuse of first-line antibiotics have increased bacterial resistance and narrowed treatment options. This problem is acute for small-molecule antibiotics, which often target specific active sites in bacterial proteins. Pathogens can quickly alter these sites, reducing drug efficacy. New therapeutic approaches are therefore needed to slow the emergence of resistant variants and counter rapid pathogen adaptation. Antimicrobial polymers (AMPs) offer a promising alternative because they kill bacteria by disrupting their membranes through electrostatic interactions. However, the cationic and hydrophobic features that support bacterial killing can also harm human cells, for example through hemolysis. Therefore new AMPs must be tuned to balance strong bactericidal activity with low toxicity by changing the type, ratio, and spatial arrangement of charged and hydrophobic groups. Most AMPs use amino-based cations that mimic those found in natural host-defense peptides. However, early signs of resistance to amino-based AMPs show the need for new cationic structures. Our work addresses this need by developing AMPs based on trivalent sulfonium cations.

Grant funding strongly influences research. Nearly all researchers rely on external grants to pay salaries, buy equipment, and run experiments. For this reason, top principal investigators spend about half their time on work linked to winning research funding. This makes grant funding one of the strongest forces shaping science. Many researchers argue that constant competition for grants weakens good science by pushing researchers to overpromise, favor short-term publications, avoid replication, and choose “feasible” projects over bold, risky ideas. As application numbers rise and success rates fall, winning grants becomes harder. Researchers therefore need to apply more often, plan grant applications earlier, and write proposals that are clear, strong, and easy to understand. The main challenge is not whether top PIs can do this, but whether they have the time. MBP R&C addresses this problem by supporting researchers who seek funding for bold and innovative ideas that can shape the future of science.

...to turn your winning ingredients into a recipe for funding success.