A team from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health are among 8 new networks, combining different research specialisms, which will work together to tackle one of humanity’s biggest threats, antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The new networks will support diverse teams of AMR researchers, ranging from specialists in agriculture, food and the environment to human and animal medicine, policy and behavioural studies, engineering and social science. Together they’ll develop new approaches to tackling AMR across sectors and disciplines, including culture, economics, behaviour, biomedical and physical sciences, design and engineering, environmental sciences and more.

They will share £4.8 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), awarded as part of its tackling infections strategic theme. This programme will continue next year with a new opportunity for ambitious new transdisciplinary research programmes, drawing on a dedicated budget of at least £7 million.

Dr Colin Miles, Head of Strategy, Advanced Manufacturing and Clean Growth at UKRI, said:

“Tackling the creeping pandemic of anti-microbial resistance – increasing resistance to antibiotics – is a large, complex problem. Ten million people each year are expected to lose their lives to it by 2050.

“Rather than taking single-discipline approaches, we need researchers from across disciplines to come together and look at all aspects of the problem – from human behaviour and how we grow crops and rear animals for consumption to how we manage the environment or use technology, clinical management strategies and challenging established cultural norms.”

The network from the University of Exeter, Climate Change Impacts on AMR Using a Planetary Health Framework (CLIMAR),  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 team is being led by Professor William Gaze 

Collaborators working with the Exeter team include:

The other networks receiving funding are:

• The AMAST (AMR in Agrifood Systems Transdisciplinary) Network will co-ordinate the agri-food trans-disciplinary community engaged in AMR activities covering crop, livestock and aquaculture sectors.  The network will engage in interactions with industry, trade associations, policy makers, and academia involved in food production. Led by Matthew Gilmour (Quadram Institute).
• The Accurate, Rapid, Robust and Economical One Health DiagnoSTics for antimicrobial resistance Network will focus on diagnostic tools in a One Health context. This network will coordinate and develop practical solutions for diagnostics in both animals and plants, across various settings. It will identify needs across sectors, develop research and innovation, standardise evaluation, support implementation, and cross-pollinate findings. Led by Mark Bradley (Queen Mary University of London).
• The Fungal One Health and Antimicrobial Resistance Network will focus on the emergence of anti-fungal 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. The network will include the following themes:  the underlying causes of resistance, surveillance, agricultural waste and water-based hotspots, the development of countermeasures and interventions to mitigate resistance. Led by Darius Armstrong-James (Imperial College London)
• The Futures AMR Network will support early career researchers across a range of disciplines including behaviour, economics, social science, art and design, chemistry and engineering to tackle AMR in the areas of arts and artificial intelligence, behavioral economics, clinical engineering and discovery. Led by Linda Oyama (Queen’s University Belfast).
• IMPACT AMR: a Transdisciplinary Network will look to address key policy questions around AMR mitigation strategies, by working with policymakers and stakeholders to determine effective interventions that reduce the AMR burden in a feasible, socially acceptable, and economically beneficial manner. Led by Clare Chandler (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)
• 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, develop new strategies and tools, and to 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. Led by Sarah Tonkin-Crine (University of Oxford)
• The Transdisciplinary Antimicrobial Resistance Genomics (TARGet) Network will utilise 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 AI 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. Led by Willem van Schaik (University of Birmingham)

Tackling infections

Tackling infections is one of UKRI’s five strategic themes and these networks are just eight of a number of investments in ways to investigate and better manage future infectious disease threats.

Tackling infections will bolster our national defence and response capabilities by tackling infectious diseases that pose threats to people, livestock, crops and natural resources in more integrated and innovative ways. This will mean we’re better prepared for potential epidemics and more effectively tackle AMR.

Our aim is to build knowledge and capability to better detect and disrupt the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, accelerating the development of new vaccines and therapeutics. At the heart of this vision is our commitment to supporting world class discovery science and further understanding of disease.

Further information

About our strategic themes

Through our five-year strategy ‘transforming tomorrow together,’ UKRI aims to harness the full power of the UK’s research and innovation system to tackle large-scale, complex challenges. To do this, we are investing £185 million in five themes which will tackle existential threats to humanity and encourage working across disciplines. These are:

• building a greener future
• building a secure and resilient world
• creating opportunities and improving outcomes
• health, ageing and wellbeing
• tackling infections

We will build on these funds through contributions from our councils and other funding partners, including government departments.

About AMR

AMR is one of the top ten global health threats. By 2050, as many as ten million people could die each year as a result of AMR. The World Bank predicts that from 2015 to 2050, the cost of AMR will be $ 3.5 billion per year on healthcare alone.

For further information please contact Professor William Gaze [email protected]