University of Southern California · PharmacologyRao Antibiotics Lab
Gauri G Rao · Los Angeles, California
Research Focus
Dr. Gauri G. Rao's lab at USC focuses on developing new antibiotics to combat serious lung infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria, also known as superbugs. They are specifically working on a promising new drug that combines teixobactin with lipopeptides, which may prove effective against bacteria that resist all existing antibiotics. This research aims to address a critical health crisis by finding innovative treatments for infections that are currently very difficult to treat.
superbugsteixobactinlipopeptidesantibiotic resistancelung infectionsGram-negative bacteriaPseudomonas aeruginosaKlebsiella pneumoniaemethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusMRSA
Research Aims
5AIM 01Develop a new hybrid antibiotic combining teixobactin and lipopeptides.
AIM 02Investigate the effectiveness of this antibiotic against pan-drug-resistant bacteria.
AIM 03Evaluate the safety and efficacy of the new drug through preclinical studies.
AIM 04Explore the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the hybrid formulation.
AIM 05Conduct IND-enabling studies to pave the way for human trials.
Skills the Lab Values
antibiotic discoverydrug formulationpharmacologyanimal modelsinhalation drug deliverypatient outcome evaluationantimicrobial resistance studiesin vitro testingminimum inhibitory concentration measurement
Output against the department
Publications155bottom 43% of dept.261st of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.5kbottom 18% of dept.379th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.