The Staphylococcus Institute is presently investigating three basic areas: 

Beach water and sand sampling – this will take place along the recreational beaches of Waikiki and Ala Moana Park.  It will include sampling for standard fecal organisms (enterococci and Clostridium perfringens as well as assays for staphylococci.

Topical Antibiotics – this novel approach to prevention and therapy for skin infections will be studied with susceptibility testing to commonly used over-the-counter antibiotics such as Triple Antibiotic Ointment as well as prescription medication such as Mupirocin and Clindamycin.

Database Project – with the accumulation of nearly 1000 strains of staphylococci from human as well as environmental samples, studies have been done to determine the genes and virulence factors they carry. This information will be analyzed to determine the relevance of multiple genes and over 20 virulence factors to see if there are correlates with human disease or other phenotypes of these organisms.