University of South Florida microbiology Professor Lindsey Shaw is leading an interdisciplinary research effort to address methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), supported by more than $4.4 million in new grants from the National Institutes of Health. MRSA is a staph infection that resists most antibiotics and can infect nearly any part of the human body. Despite years of research, many aspects of how MRSA produces toxins and survives during infection remain unclear.
“It’s adapted to be really good at surviving on surfaces, like carts, shelves, desks, computers and keyboards,” Shaw said. “It’s just one of the ultimate human pathogens.”
Shaw’s personal experience with a related bacterial infection after surgery as a teenager has influenced his career path. “That experience gave me a firsthand understanding of how devastating and persistent these infections can be,” Shaw said. “It’s what drove me to study bacteria and, ultimately, to focus my career on understanding and defeating MRSA. This research is about saving lives.”
In fall 2025, Shaw launched his new lab at USF with the aim to accelerate discovery and train future scientists through an undergraduate antimicrobial resistance lab. Students are able to work directly with hundreds of bacterial strains, including a recently identified strain spreading in Florida.
This strain, called the “snowbird clone,” was detected through funding from the 2024 USF CREATE Award—a grant that also enabled collaboration between Shaw and Dr. Kami Kim from USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.
The CREATE Award further supported the creation of the USF Center for Antimicrobial Resistance, which uses genome sequencing to analyze new antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as the snowbird clone.
The snowbird clone was first found in Canada about 15 years ago but now has its highest concentration in Tampa—36 out of 65 known cases worldwide—with additional cases reported in Jacksonville, Gainesville, and Miami. A recent study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases detailed this rare strain’s function and genetic code. Researchers have found that MRSA is becoming more genetically diverse among patients than previously understood.
Emily Felton discovered the snowbird clone while completing her doctoral studies at USF. She stated: “As a scientist and a researcher, I want to help the clinicians and hospitals improve patient outcomes.” Felton plans to continue her work at USF as a postdoctoral researcher alongside Shaw and Kim.
“Our success reflects the value of investing in interdisciplinary teams,” Kim said. “The CREATE Award allowed us to bring together expertise from microbiology, clinical medicine and genomics, which led to discoveries we never anticipated.”
With continued NIH support, Shaw intends to further investigate MRSA’s genetic mechanisms with hopes for future treatments targeting its weaknesses.
“Our work is a team effort,” Shaw said. “We’re bringing together students, clinicians and researchers to tackle urgent public health threats right here in our community.”
