NovoBiotic Research Team

Lewis, Epstein named Global Thinkers of 2015

Biology professor Kim Lewis and Slava Epstein have been named Global Thinkers of 2015 by Foreign Policy.

Each year for the past seven years, Foreign Policy selected the leading Global Thinkers whose contributions and work have changed lives and are shaping the world.

Lewis and Epstein are honorees in the Healers category for their work on antibiotic resistance.

In January, Lewis and Epstein announced their joint efforts have resulted in the discovery of teixobactin, a new antibiotic that can vanquish tuberculosis and MRSA.

In a big, multi-country collaboration, scientists from Novobiotic Pharmaceuticals discovered this antibiotic using iChip, which was developed in Epstein’s lab. The iChip is a domino-sized plastic block on which microbes isolated from soil are placed. The iChip is then buried in soil in order to culture bacteria.

Read this in-depth profile about Professor Epstein written by Carl Zimmer for STAT News.

For the full list of Global Thinkers of 2015, visit Foreign Policy’s website.

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