{"id":148790,"date":"2025-08-26T09:58:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T13:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790//?p=148790"},"modified":"2025-08-26T09:58:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T13:58:06","slug":"ucf-med-student-earns-prestigious-international-nih-fellowship-to-address-antibiotic-resistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790//ucf-med-student-earns-prestigious-international-nih-fellowship-to-address-antibiotic-resistance/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790//","title":{"rendered":"麻豆原创 Med Student Earns Prestigious International NIH Fellowship to Address Antibiotic Resistance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Third-year medical student Larissa Dixon/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s journey to becoming a physician is reaching far beyond 麻豆原创/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s College of Medicine campus /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2014 all the way to Peru./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

After a three-week clinical experience at Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas – Escuela de Medicina in Lima, Peru, last year, Dixon was motivated to pursue /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2014 and recently earned /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2014 a U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogarty International Center Fellowship to further her studies at Peru/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s Asociaci/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u00f3n Civil Impacta Salud y Educaci/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u00f3n (IMPACTA). A former middle school science teacher, Dixon is the first 麻豆原创 student to earn the prestigious year-long fellowship and one of nearly 100 students selected worldwide this year./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201cWhen I was in Peru, I thought it was such a great experience and I wanted to know how I can come back and do more research,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201cI had no idea how I would be able to do that, but I knew the first step was speaking to doctors and researchers about their own career trajectories and how they became involved in global health. From there, I learned about and pursued the Fogarty program./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

Combating Antibiotic Resistance at Home and Abroad/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

Dixon/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s project will examine how Peruvian clinics distribute preventative antibiotics, specifically a newer one known as doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (DoxyPEP), and how patients use them to stave off sexually transmitted infections (STIs)./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

She will survey healthcare providers and patients to understand what is needed for safe and effective implementation of DoxyPEP./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

Dixon hopes her findings will better inform global efforts to reduce the threat of antibiotic resistance, where bacteria gradually adapt to overcome medical treatments./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201cAs places start to adopt guidelines, I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019m hoping my research can better inform how and when these measures should be used,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201d she says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

Unlike in the U.S., patients in Peru often get antibiotics without a prescription despite regulations requiring one. so studying the outcomes in both countries gives health care providers a fuller picture of how to combat drug resistance./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

Antibiotic resistance can arise when antibiotics are widely used, creating a challenge for new prevention strategies. Dixon/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s research focuses on balancing the promise of DoxyPEP, which has been shown to lower rates of STIs in certain populations, with the risks of increasing antimicrobial resistance. By engaging both patients and clinicians, the study aims to identify gaps in care and guidance that can inform educational efforts, strengthen antibiotic stewardship, and support safe and effective STI prevention./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201cAntimicrobial resistance is such an important topic because once our antibiotics stop working, it could basically take us back to an era without antibiotics where essentially any minor infection could actually significantly harm you,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201cIt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s really important for all countries to work together and monitor antibiotic use and adopt evidence-based guidelines./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

Elena Cyrus, associate professor of population health sciences, leads the emerging global health study abroad program that led to Dixon/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s fellowship. She says that Dixon/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s research directly addresses a global need and that it is relevant to populations here in the U.S./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201cAntibiotic resistance, the emergence of new STI/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s and the overuse of antibiotics are all relevant issues,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201d Cyrus says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201cThere are ongoing discussions to develop new antibiotics and new diagnostics to detect when overuse can be prevented. Larissa/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u2019s project is something that will allow this to be explored comprehensively. Her findings could then be translated to populations in the U.S., and they can help with overuse of medications here at home./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/148790/n