A project led by Professor Achillefs Kapanidis from the Department of Physics is one of six to share £2m funding from the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI). The IOI Synergy Grants scheme funds research into antimicrobial resistance (AMR) with translational potential and with a strong focus on collaboration across departments and disciplines at the University of Oxford.
Each of the six projects will receive funding of up to £500,000 over a two-year period. Projects include new antibiotic drug discovery, development of diagnostic tools to accurately diagnose infections, phages to kill drug-resistant bacteria, and behaviour change interventions to reduce antibiotic usage.
Professor Kapanidis’ project aims to develop a microfluidics-enabled imaging platform for the rapid identification of bacterial pathogens in biological specimens and determination of their antibiotic susceptibility profile. Professor Kapanidis will collaborate with colleagues in Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine and the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health for this project.
Professor Sir Stewart Cole, Executive Chair of the IOI said, ‘AMR is a multi-faceted problem that cannot be solved by working in silos. Experts from medical sciences, life sciences and social sciences must work in unison to protect the existing antibiotics and find new ones. The IOI Synergy Grants bring together Oxford’s world-class researchers in an integrated multidisciplinary approach to shape the future of modern medicine.
‘The projects exemplify the tremendous range of AMR research across the university, from new diagnostic tools to patient-facing interventions. The quality of research is outstanding, and I look forward to seeing real-world applications arise from the IOI Synergy initiative.’