Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis
University of Notre Dame engineers have joined forces with microbiologists at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, to further investigate a promising strategy for managing cystic fibrosis lung infections.
Cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease that causes patients’ airways to fill with a thick and sticky mucus, affects many people around the world.
Ireland has the highest incidence per capita — triple that of the United States — and is home to a significant number of researchers who focus on this disease.
Treating cystic fibrosis lung infections is particularly challenging because they consist of biofilms — aggregates of bacteria encased in a gel-like matrix that are highly resistant to antibiotics.
Previously, Robert Nerenberg, environmental engineer and biofilms expert, and Albert Cerrone, a civil engineer, along with doctoral student Yanina Nahum, demonstrated how combining antibiotics with low-frequency ultrasound greatly increases the effectiveness of the antibiotics.
Now the researchers are partnering with Marta Martins, assistant professor of microbiology at Trinity College, to understand exactly how low-frequency ultrasound enhances antibiotic activity. Martins’ lab researches bacteria’s cellular and molecular mechanisms of defense against antimicrobials.

Nahum spent the summer in Ireland working in Martins’ lab, where she learned new methods for analyzing bacterial resistance to antibiotics, especially via efflux pumps.
“We know that low-frequency ultrasound is impairing the bacteria’s ability to defend themselves,” said Nahum, “and now we have the techniques to better understand how they are doing that.”
In addition to antibiotics, treatments for cystic fibrosis include the use of vibrating vests to loosen mucus from the lungs.
The researchers envision a possible new treatment that would incorporate low-frequency ultrasound into the vibrating vest. The ultrasound could then disable the biofilms’ defense mechanisms and increase the effectiveness of antibiotics. This synergistic effect is particularly important as a way to deal with advanced stages of the disease, when multidrug-resistant biofilms tend to develop.
Low-frequency ultrasound in combination with other types of antimicrobials may have applications beyond this project, Nerenberg said.
“Biofilms grow on devices in hospitals, such as catheters, joint prosthetics and pacemakers,” he said. “They’re a problem in pipes and water systems where pathogens like Legionella (the bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease) can grow.
“By looking at the fundamentals of biofilms — at the cellular level— we can determine where this new approach can be used most effectively.”
Latest International
- Patrick Griffin admitted as honorary member to Royal Irish AcademyPatrick Griffin, the Thomas Moore and Judy Livingston Director of the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs and the Madden-Hennebry Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, was admitted to the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) as an honorary member in a ceremony in Dublin on Friday (May 26).
- Partnership with Ukrainian Catholic University recognized with Heiskell AwardIn recognition for its support of Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), the University of Notre Dame has been awarded the 2023 Institute of International Education (IIE) Heiskell Award for Strategic Partnerships.
- Kroc Institute releases special report on implementation status of gender approach within Colombian Peace AgreementThe Peace Accords Matrix at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies has released a new special report outlining the current implementation status of the gender approach within the 2016 Colombian Peace Accord. The implementation of the gender approach has been fundamental to guaranteeing the protection and promotion of the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people.
- A Bog's LifeAs Ireland contemplates its energy future, a Notre Dame student works to restore its ecological past. On a typical gray, rainy day along Ireland’s west coast, Tom Nee leads a group of Notre Dame students around the grounds of his sheep farm along the Killary Fjord. On the far side of the inlet are steep hills, with hints of jagged stone peeking out through a blanket of green. On the near side, the students watch as Nee leads a sheepherding demonstration. He gently vocalizes commands to his sheepdog, Holly, who in turn jogs on either side of the herd, moving and coaxing the animals into the desired position.…
- Insight into Human TraffickingIn this episode, we chat with Dean Shepherd, the Ray and Milann Siegfried Professor of Entrepreneurship in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. Professor Shepherd recently published research into the organization of sex work and human trafficking in India. The study draws from interviews with girls and women forced into the sex industry, human traffickers, brothel managers, doctors, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and police officers, in an effort to better understand the cycle and ultimately invoke change.…
- Maria Mercedes Salmon named director of Mexico City Global CenterNotre Dame International has announced that Maria Mercedes Salmon has been appointed director of the University of Notre Dame’s Global Center in Mexico.