A Hackensack Meridian Health researcher has received a $33.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop antibiotics to combat drug-resistant infections in hospitals.
David S. Perlin, PhD, chief scientific officer of the Edison, N.J.-based health system's Center for Discovery and Innovation, will use the five-year grant to establish a Center of Excellence for Translational Research.
The center, which will be a public-private partnership, will comprise three research areas: cancer and infectious disease, multiple myeloma and regenerative medicine.
Dr. Perlin's expertise lies in drug discovery, mechanisms of antifungal drug resistance and diagnosis of drug-resistant pathogens in certain high-risk patients, such as those with cancer. He is the author of more than 250 papers and book chapters and has co-authored two books.
Senior researchers at the new center will include experts from the Center for Discovery and Innovation, the Rockefeller University in New York City and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark.