UTSA students join global effort to tackle antibiotic resistance through soil research

Molecular microbiology and immunology student Nishat Shama observes microbial colonies in soil samples in a UTSA laboratory.

MAY 9, 2025 — As part of a UTSA microbiology course, students like Nishat Shama, a molecular microbiology and immunology major, have collected local soil samples to search for microorganisms that could lead to the discovery of new antibiotics.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes antimicrobial resistance as “one of the world’s most urgent public health problems.” It occurs as pathogens develop defense mechanisms against common antibiotic medications.

According to the World Health Organization, the process is driven by misuse and overuse of antibiotic drugs. Meanwhile, the development of new, more effective antibiotics has not kept pace with rising resistance levels, leaving a growing number of bacterial infections untreatable.

The UTSA undergraduate course, part of the Place-Based Soil Data Interpretation and Research in Texas (PBS-DIRT) project and supported by a $395,000 USDA grant, gives students a hands-on approach to fighting the global antibiotic resistance crisis.

Students participating in the module are collecting soil samples in the San Antonio area and analyzing soil data to potentially find new antibiotics. The class has diluted their soil samples, plated them and observed microbial colonies that may hold promising antibiotic properties.

They will contribute their findings to a global database managed by the Tiny Earth Initiative, an organization that supports student research in pursuit of more effective antibiotics.

According to Assistant Professor Hamid Badali, Tiny Earth is a global initiative involving over 17,000 instructors across the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. UTSA students gain both research skills and a deeper awareness of the environmental factors tied to public health.

“I think it’s very educationally enriching to learn how antibiotics are actually made,” Shama said. “This project has helped me learn that our environment is important, and we should pay more attention to it.”

UTSA offers many hands-on learning opportunities to set students up for success in the workforce. By 2028, the university aims for 75% of its undergraduates to participate in a classroom-to-career experience.

— Ari Castañeda and Tiffany Huertas