Funding Proposal
Statement of Need
Antibiotics are medical drugs that help fight and kill off bacterial infections. They are a kind of medicine that has completely changed the world. However, bacteria can evolve and become resistant to the antibiotics used every day. It does so constantly and threatens to nullify the usefulness of any current antibiotics. As of right now, it is essentially a cat-and-mouse game from one resistant strain of bacteria to new antibiotics to counter it. Bacteria's eventual resistance to antibiotics is natural and will always occur but is picking up a concerning pace. This is due to a few reasons, partially due to poor management of infections in the past but specifically because of the misuse of antibiotics when attempting to treat infections in outpatient settings. Many use antibiotics, but they do not understand how to properly use them and why it matters. Without effective antibiotics, many treatable bacterial infections will become fatal once again.
IN SUMMARY
Antibiotics are medical drugs that specialize in fighting off bacteria
Bacteria can and will evolve to become resistant to antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance is natural
However, the number of resistant strains is increasing faster than ever before
Due to misuse of antibiotics primarily in outpatient settings
The average person does not understand how to correctly use antibiotics and why it matters
Many treatable infections would become fatal if antibiotics were no longer effective
Goals
We have multiple goals we hope to meet. Our main goal is to inform the public of the dangers of antibiotic resistance. Much of the public is unaware of the threats that antibiotic resistance carries. This is a danger because if they are unaware of the consequences of antibiotic resistance, they will not want to stop it. Our goal is to have the public aware that antibiotic resistance is a serious issue. We also want them to understand how it works and what can be done to stop it. Before we put the grant into place, we will begin polling in the Central Virginia region before surveying greater areas, then expand to Virginia as a whole. We also hope to expand our polls in the future to more states. After we put the grant into action, we will then calculate what percentage of the public is aware and knows the dangers of antibiotic resistance. We will compare the number of people before the PSA and after the PSA and see what the difference in knowledge is. It is also our goal to help new studies relating to antibiotic resistance. With these studies, we will be able to fine tune our efforts. We also hope to gain more knowledge regarding antibiotic resistance.
SIMPLE DEPICTION OF MICROBIOME
NORMAL VS ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA
Proposed Action Plans
The funding will go to the publication of the PSA we have created. This will raise public awareness of antibiotic resistance and its effects on human health, which in turn will increase the urgency to figure out a solution. As the PSA is being shown, another portion of the funding will be used to implement routine sampling and testing of microbiomes. Testing the microorganisms will give scientists a better understanding of microbiology, which then paves the way for innovation in treatment for antibiotic resistant bacteria. An organization will be set up from medical professionals who are willing and knowledgeable in microbiology, and this organization will be the one running the testing facilities after physicians collect microbiome samples from patients. It will be called Resistance Protection Group (RPG). Samples will be able to be collected during normal health checkups or by specifically scheduled appointments, but will always be recommended. In addition to testing microbiome samples, RPG will work towards finding effective treatments for resistant bacteria and looking more into all things antibiotic-related, though it will have a primary focus on antibiotic resistance in the human microbiome. This organization will be local to central Virginia but once established, can become a larger-scale project if it produces good enough results.
Estimated Costs (Budget)
For our project, we will need about $970,000 to fund research on bacterial infection in the gut microbiome. As briefly mentioned in the above section, we will require a few customers/volunteers to sample their gut microbiome via stool tests and send them into our RPG team to test. In order for this to occur, we will need to not only present a PSA, but advertise our business (proposal) as well. The advertising will need a total of $132,500 to happen, which includes video ads, paper ads, such as flyers, and social media sponsors. Once advertised, the stool tests will be given out to participants and our research team will test the samples. At the start of our project, we will have a total of three employees, who will be paid an annual starting salary of $40,000. For microbiome study, quality compound light microscopes will be needed, costing around $19,236 each, and stool testing kits, paid by us, will cost around $79 to $400. Our employees and tools will be stored in a 3,400 square feet warehouse located in Fredericksburg, costing around $547,500. Lab results will be mailed back to our first few volunteers by letter mail, starting from $0.66 per envelope. Every fund needed is attached in the google spreadsheet to the left, listed in detail.
