As part of UKRI’s ‘tackling infections’ strategic theme, we have invested £4.8 million to support eight transdisciplinary antimicrobial resistance (AMR) networks.
The AMR networks aim to connect and expand the UK AMR communities. They will:
- use a transdisciplinary approach to address challenges related to AMR
- increase collaboration between disciplines and stakeholders, including non-academic communities
- generate research questions to address key areas of unmet need
- identify and prepare for future challenges
The networks support a diverse range of AMR research, ranging across:
- agriculture
- food and the environment
- human and animal medicine
- diagnostics
- policy and behavioural studies
- engineering and social science
- early career researcher development
The networks are undertaking a range of networking events and activities. These include supporting small pilot or feasibility studies to generate preliminary data for longer term funding, and knowledge exchanges between different disciplines and sectors to grow those new partnerships and collaborations.
AMR in Agrifood Systems Transdisciplinary (AMAST) Network
The AMAST Network will coordinate the agri-food transdisciplinary research community engaged in AMR activities covering crop, livestock and aquaculture sectors.
The network will engage in interactions with industry, trade associations, policymakers, and academia involved in food production.
The network is led by Dr Matthew Gilmour, Quadram Institute.
Climate Change Impacts on AMR Using a Planetary Health Framework (CLIMAR) Network
The CLIMAR Network will examine the relationship between AMR, climate change and pollution.
It will connect nature, health, equity and social justice to ensure systems change covering the human, animal and environmental sectors. The aim will be to find transdisciplinary solutions to reducing AMR infections while promoting innovations for alternative treatments.
The network is led by Professor William Gaze, University of Exeter.
Accurate, Rapid, Robust and Economical One Health Diagnostics for antimicrobial resistance (ARREST-AMR) Network
The ARREST-AMR Network will focus on diagnostic tools in a One Health context.
This network will coordinate and develop practical solutions for diagnostics in humans, animals and plants, across various settings.
This will be addressed by identifying needs across sectors, developing research and innovation, standardising evaluation, supporting implementation, and cross-pollinating findings.
The network is led by Professor Mark Bradley, Queen Mary University of London.
Fungal One Health and Antimicrobial Resistance (F1AMR) Network
The F1AMR Network will focus on the emergence of antifungal resistance and the development of countermeasures to it.
The network will cover healthcare, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries, as well as key government departments and end users in these settings.
It will include the following themes:
- the underlying causes of resistance
- surveillance
- agricultural waste and water-based hotspots
- the development of countermeasures
- interventions to mitigate resistance
The network is led by Professor Darius Armstrong-James, Imperial College London.
Futures AMR Network (FAN)
The FAN network will support early career researchers across a range of disciplines to become future leaders in the AMR field. It will tackle AMR in the areas of agri-food health, environment and medicine, using approaches in the arts and artificial intelligence (Al), behavioural economics, clinical engineering and discovery.
FAN’s community of early career researchers will offer a continuous stream of insights, exploration and innovation in future AMR.
FAN is led by Dr Linda Oyama, Queen’s University Belfast.
IMPACT AMR: a Transdisciplinary Network
The IMPACT AMR network will address key policy questions around AMR mitigation strategies. It will work with policymakers and other stakeholders to prioritise effective interventions that reduce the AMR burden in a feasible, socially acceptable and economically beneficial manner.
The network is led by Professor Clare Chandler, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
People AMR Network
The People AMR Network will consider how communities might use antibiotics in the best possible ways to minimise AMR through changing behaviour.
The network will explore ways to help people make decisions about antibiotic use and develop new strategies and tools. It will study these to ensure they target the right people, the right behaviours, and the right settings to have maximum and timely impact at the lowest possible cost.
The community will include representatives from the public as well as GPs, dentists, pharmacists, vets and business leaders.
The network is led by Dr Sarah Tonkin-Crine, University of Oxford.
Transdisciplinary Antimicrobial Resistance Genomics (TARGetAMR) Network
The TARGetAMR Network will use recent genomic advances to better understand AMR and leverage this information for surveillance, diagnostic, and infection prevention control practices.
The data from these studies will allow the application of ethically based Al tools and new technologies to support future prescribing in both human and veterinary medicine. The network will cover the needs of academia, business, NHS, social care settings and veterinary medicine.
The network is led by Professor Willem van Schaik, University of Birmingham.