Congratulations to Drs. Irah King and Dao Nguyen who received funding from the MI4-Pathy Seed Fund Grant (Round 7).
Launched in November 2025, this competition supports bold, innovative research advancing our understanding of infection across three key areas: pandemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance, and microbes that shape human health.
Reprogramming Gut Bacteria into Living Vaccines
Lucienne Tritten & Irah King
Many infections begin in the gut, yet most vaccines are designed to work in the bloodstream rather than at the body’s mucosal surfaces. This project explores a groundbreaking approach: using harmless gut bacteria as “living vaccine factories.” By reprogramming naturally occurring bacteria to produce tiny vaccine-carrying particles directly in the intestine, this strategy could provide continuous, localized protection right where infections start. If successful, this work could pave the way for low-cost, easily deployable vaccines built from the body’s own microbiome.
Tracking the Spread of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Hospitals
Yves Longtin & Dao Nguyen
Carbapenems are among the last-resort antibiotics used to treat severe infections. However, resistance to these drugs is rising rapidly worldwide, including in Quebec, posing a serious threat to patient care. This project investigates how these resistant bacteria spread in hospitals: between patients or within individuals through mobile genetic elements called plasmids. In the first Canadian study of its kind, the team will track how these bacteria evolve and spread among patients at the Jewish General Hospital. Their findings will help inform more effective infection prevention strategies, both at the hospital and patient level.
Each team will receive $150,000 to support their research over up to 24 months.
This round of funding was made possible through the generous support of the Pathy Family Foundation and MI4.
Read More
2026 MI4-Pathy Seed Fund Grant (SFG) – Round 7. MI4 Website.