A New Research Hub to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance

In a significant stride toward combating the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Tufts University has launched the Laboratory for Combinatorial Drug Regimen Design for Resistant and Emerging Pathogens (LCDRD). Made possible by a $5.15 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the new facility is housed within the Stuart B. Levy Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance (Levy CIMAR) and located on the 8th floor of Tufts’ Biomedical Research and Public Health Building on its Health Sciences Campus in Boston.

The 2,500-square-foot lab is designed to foster collaboration among scientists, clinicians, and engineers from across Tufts University, Tufts Medicine, and national and international partners. Situated adjacent to Tufts’ BSL-3 lab and key research groups, it supports a uniquely interdisciplinary research environment with state-of-the-art investigative and safety amenities.

“The LCDRD is a testament to our commitment to pioneering research and innovation,” said Brian Noonan, executive director of Levy CIMAR. “By uniting experts across disciplines, we’re advancing smarter antimicrobial therapies to confront the urgent threat of antimicrobial resistance—a crisis responsible for over 35,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone.”

Designed to meet this challenge head-on, the LCDRD focuses on preserving the effectiveness of existing antimicrobial drugs while developing new treatments. Through cutting-edge research, training, and stewardship, the lab is positioned to lead national efforts in combating the growing burden of drug-resistant infections.

Advanced Facilities for Cutting-Edge Research

The LCDRD was designed with both functionality and collaboration in mind, the facility features a spacious, light-filled layout with dedicated rooms for pathogen handling, tissue culture, and chemical storage—ensuring safe, efficient workflows and minimizing cross-contamination across projects.

Equipped with ample bench space, multiple biosafety hoods, and reserved space for a clinical isolate biobank, the LCDRD supports a broad spectrum of studies, including urgent investigations into emerging and pan-resistant organisms. Its thoughtful design fosters a collaborative atmosphere, enhanced by sweeping views of downtown Boston, making it an inspiring environment for both resident and visiting scientists.

The LCDRD features a range of specialized lab spaces to support a range of research activities:

• Open Lab: 700 sq ft space with five lab benches for general BSL-2 work.
• Tissue Culture Lab: 250 sq ft space with biosafety cabinets for culturing mammalian cells and BSL-2 pathogens.
• Restricted Pathogen Lab: 770 sq ft lab with modular benches, biosafety cabinets, an autoclave, and ultra-low temperature freezers for handling high-risk pathogens.
• Collaboration Space: 300 sq ft of offices, kitchenette, and flexible meeting space.

"The opening of the LCDRD is a really exciting step for CIMAR. It will provide a physical home for CIMAR, allowing us to increase discussions between clinicians and basic scientists. Sometimes, the most exciting collaborations are sparked by casual conversations,” said Bree Aldridge, Levy CIMAR associate director and combinatorial treatment core director, and professor of molecular biology and microbiology at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and professor of biomedical engineering at the School of Engineering. “The LCDRD space is also designed so that we can perform large-scale experiments with a flexibility that will foster creativity and innovation by CIMAR and allow us to broaden our collaborations both within Tufts University and Tufts Medicine and with external universities, non-profits, and companies."

Building on this collaborative foundation, leaders see the lab as a critical bridge between scientific discovery and improved patient care. “By bringing clinician investigators who are grappling with the biggest challenges in medicine in close collaboration with outstanding basic scientists, we can accelerate translation of research into advances in clinical care,” said Iris Jaffe, director of the Tufts University–Tufts Medicine Research Enterprise, professor of medicine at TUSM, and executive director of the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center (TMC).

Precision Medicine Meets Urgent Need

The LCDRD is poised to advance combination drug therapies for difficult-to-treat infections and push the boundaries of personalized medicine. It is also expected to play a key role in expanding national capacity to respond to infectious disease emergencies. In addition to its research mission, the lab will serve as a training hub for visiting scientists from local, national, and global partners—strengthening the pipeline of AMR researchers worldwide.

A key focus of the LCDRD’s early work will be adapting DiaMOND—a high-throughput drug combination screening platform developed by Aldridge—for use against drug-resistant pathogens on the CDC’s “urgent” threat list. Originally developed to identify effective drug combinations for tuberculosis, DiaMOND (short for Diagonal Measurement of N-Way Drug Interactions) can be used for systematic evaluation of drug combinations to help researchers pinpoint optimal therapies faster and more precisely.

One of the lab’s long-term goals is to leverage this technology to advance personalized medicine for bacterial infections. By working closely with physicians at TMC, LCDRD researchers aim to tailor antimicrobial drug combinations to individual patients, improving outcomes and reducing treatment failures due to resistance. If successful, this approach could mark a major shift in how bacterial infections are treated—especially those with limited or no existing treatment options.

Built on Collaboration

“Beyond the lab benches and biosafety hoods, the LCDRD was designed to foster connection,” said Kathleen Davis, Levy CIMAR Scientific Team Lead. “A flexible collaboration zone supports interdisciplinary meetings, informal brainstorming, and virtual consultations with offsite partners. The goal is to make scientific exchange as seamless and spontaneous as possible—whether it’s between a Tufts clinician and a visiting researcher or across fields like engineering and microbiology.”

This spirit of collaboration is deeply embedded in the lab’s research mission. Current projects target drug-resistant pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and atypical mycobacterial infections. These efforts are powered by a broad network of collaborators spanning seven Tufts schools, Tufts Medicine, and external institutions including the MaineHealth Institute for Research (MHIR), Case Western Reserve University, and Dartmouth College.

One such collaboration brings together researchers Kathleen Davis, Bree Aldridge, Adriana Rosato (director of the Center for Molecular Medicine at the MHIR and professor at TUSM), and Husain Poonawala (a clinical microbiologist at TMC and assistant professor at Tufts). Their joint research explores how certain antibiotics can help restore the effectiveness of daptomycin—a key drug used to treat MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a pathogen known for its resistance to many common antibiotics and its potential to cause life-threatening infections. They are also investigating how genetic variations in MRSA strains influence treatment outcomes, offering new insights into precision antimicrobial therapy.

“Collaboration isn’t just part of the work at the LCDRD—it’s the reason it was built,” Davis emphasized. “It’s at the core of every project, because addressing antimicrobial resistance demands more than lab work—it requires an interdisciplinary approach. The One Health framework reminds us that effective solutions must integrate clinical, veterinary, environmental, and regulatory perspectives to be viable in the real world, where outcomes affect real people, animals, and ecosystems.”

Noonan echoed this sentiment: “The collaborative spirit at Tufts is what sets this work apart. The LCDRD is a shining example of how we can respond to one of the biggest public health challenges of our time—together.”