Biofilm infections' impact on Maori with osteomyelitis as a central focus.

I am an orthopaedic registrar at Starship Hospital aspiring to become a rurally based surgeon to support my Iwi. Osteomyelitis, a common biofilm infection of the bone, is overrepresented in Māori (40.6/100,00 hospital admissions) compared with non-Māori (12.3/100,00 hospital admissions). Research objectives include: 1)Literature review of all biofilm infections and their impact on Māori, with osteomyelitis as a central focus. First-hand stories will be collected from Māori impacted by childhood osteomyelitis and qualitatively analysed. 2)Extensive biofilm and antibiotic resistance analysis will be conducted in bacterial samples collected from Māori paediatric patients infected with osteomyelitis treated at Starship Hospital. 3)Lactoferrin, a potent antimicrobial milk glycoprotein, will be developed in an animal model as an adjuvant treatment for osteomyelitis. My research seeks to improve treatment success for biofilm infections, particularly osteomyelitis amongst Māori. This will enrich the knowledge of care for Māori patients affected by biofilm infections, providing a novel treatment of osteomyelitis.