Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, possesses genetically-encoded responses to doxycycline, but not to amoxicillin.

Some species of bacteria respond to antibiotic stresses by altering their transcription profiles, in order to produce proteins that provide protection against the antibiotic. Understanding these compensatory mechanisms allows for informed treatment strategies, and could lead to the development of improved therapeutics. To this end, studies were performed to determine whether Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochetal agent of Lyme disease, also exhibits genetically-encoded responses to the commonly prescribed antibiotics doxycycline and amoxicillin.

Moving Forward to Nurture Workforce Resilience in Crisis.

As the CEO of a firm that helps organizations improve performance through culture and learning, and as someone who has spent the past 12 years coaching thousands of individual leaders, staff members, and physicians at hundreds of hospitals and health systems, I have seen both the positive effects of resilience and the negative effects of a lack of resilience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I and my team have worked with organizations to find ways to help their distressed employees take better care of themselves and, in turn, help their patients as our collective recovery continues.