Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK) is funding seven new antibiotic research projects totalling £200,000, reportedly the largest sum it has ever awarded through its 2021 Small Research Grants / Career Development Awards scheme. The grants will fund essential academic research in both basic and applied sciences to help prevent another global pandemic, this time caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria.
The grants have been awarded to support seven research projects across the UK including:
- Dr Ryan Hamilton from the Leicester School of Pharmacy, DeMontfort University, who is exploring the experiences and support needs of people living with antimicrobial resistance in the UK in a qualitative interview approach.
- Dora Elkholly from the Royal Veterinary College, researching antimicrobial usage in farm animal veterinary practice in the UK with a mixed method approach.
- Dr Monique Andersson, Nuffield Div. Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Oxford University, is examining a multicentre perspective cohort study to improve outcomes of necrotising otitis externa in the UK
- Professor Lori Snyder, School of Life Science, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University, is working on preventing infant blindness using a non-antibiotic alternative
- Chris Graham, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, is working on the project “Antibiotic Breaker: The outer membrane and peptidoglycan link as a new antibiotic vulnerability”
- Professor Matthew Todd, School of Pharmacy, UCL, is researching drug candidates targeting multiple bacterial enzymes
- Professor Jeff Errington, Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Newcastle University, is establishing methods for discovery of novel antibacterial inhibitors of RodA protein.
Professor Colin Garner, Chief Executive of ANTRUK, said: “These important projects support our commitment to invest in high quality solutions to help save modern medicine through better antibiotic use and innovative new treatments. They also highlight that there is a funding gap in academia to support research into drug-resistant infections. We can do more, but we depend on the generosity of the public to help us.”
Image credit: Christopher Bill
