University of Liverpool (UoL) and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) investigators have been awarded £3.54 (approx. USD 4.43) million for a research project that aims to develop a ‘personalized health’ approach to prevent and treat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The funding was awarded through an open competition by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), UK.
The University of Liverpool, founded in 1881, works for the advancement of learning and ennoblement of life. A connected, global University with multiple physical and virtual campuses – UK, China, Singapore and online. According to the University their worldwide influence and impact is unrivalled in higher education.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), was founded in 1898, and was the first institution in the world dedicated to research and teaching in the field of tropical medicine. As a registered charity, they work across the world, often in very difficult circumstances, to fulfil the mission of reducing the burden of sickness and mortality in disease endemic countries. This is achieved through the delivery of effective interventions which improve human health and are relevant to the poorest communities.
Resistance to all antimicrobials, and especially bacterial resistance to existing antibiotics, is increasing. It is now posing a serious threat to health both in the UK and globally, and risks undermining the major improvements in medicine that have been made in recent decades.
The funding will enable equipment to be purchased for real time measurement of drug concentrations in patients, rapid sequencing of bacteria from patients, performing pharmacogenetic analyses and real time pharmacodynamic analyses. These approaches will be unified using artificial intelligence and deep learning in collaboration with the University of Liverpool’s Department of Computer Science.
“Our goal is to find ways to move away from a “one size fits all” to a fully individualised approach where each patient receives the right drug and dose for their infection and knows whether they are well positioned to receive maximum effect from their antimicrobial therapy. Liverpool is building the infrastructure and knowledge to prevent AMR from occurring and to provide treatment options for patients that have few and sometimes no treatment options.” – Professor William Hope, UoL
“This award is great news for Liverpool and the Northwest. We have a wealth of world-class experts here focussed on mitigating the effects of AMR. We work at local, national and international levels and this funding will allow us to build local infrastructure which will provide direct patient benefit in a sustainable manner” – Dr Adam Roberts, LSTM
“Without dedicated efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance, modern medicine as we know it could be lost. Funding new and innovative approaches to tackle the problem is crucial, and this substantial capital funding will be a significant step towards strengthening UK-based AMR initiatives.” Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer of England
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