Year: 2026
Type: editorial
Abstract: Antimicrobial peptides (also known as host defense peptides; HDPs) have been a topic of intense research in the past decades, stimulated by the rise in antibiotic resistance. This Viewpoint article highlights the contribution of Robert E. W. Hancock to HDP research, who was among the first to recognize the potential of activities of HDPs that are independent of their direct antimicrobial activity, such as activities related to immunity and wound repair. To this end he developed immunomodulatory peptides, focused on the antibiofilm activity of HDPs, and contributed to novel approaches to develop new classes of peptides.
Source: ACS Infectious Diseases
Author: Pieter S. Hiemstra
Institution: Leiden University Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7155099757