The Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) has awarded over £2m to six projects across the University of Oxford focused on developing new solutions to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 

The IOI Synergy Grants scheme is an internal Oxford-wide funding call for AMR-focused research with translational potential and with a strong focus on collaboration across university departments and disciplines.

Each project 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 behavior change interventions to reduce antibiotic usage.

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.

Professor Sir Stewart Cole, Executive Chair of the IOI

AMR has claimed nearly 24 million lives between 1990 and 2024. Without urgent solutions, it is expected to cause more than 39 million deaths between now and 2050.

28 applications were submitted and six projects spanning 11 departments across the University of Oxford were selected after a two-stage, international peer-review review process. 

The six projects successful projects are: 

Developing pilus-dependent bacteriophage as a tool to combat AMR

Led by Prof Craig MacLean, Department of Biology, the project will develop Pilus Dependent Lytic Bacteriophages (PDBs) to selectively kill resistant-bacteria and stop the spread of antibiotic resistance. Prof MacLean will collaborate with colleagues in Oxford’s Department of Engineering, Nuffield Department of Medicine and the Big Data Institute. 

Duration and type of urinary tract infection antibiotic treatment and impacts on the gut microbiome and resistome (DUTI-GUM)

Dr Nicole Stoesser, Associate Professor in the Nuffield Department of Medicine and Consultant in Infectious Diseases leads this study focused on urinary tract infections. The team will explore the effect of different antibiotic-duration combinations with the goal of informing prescribers and policy makers about optimal treatment strategies. Prof Stoesser will collaborate with colleagues in Oxford’s Experimental Medicine Division, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and Nuffield Department of Population Health

Understanding antibiotic collateral damage to the gut microbiota to reduce the spread of resistance

Prof Daniel O’Connor, Department of Pediatrics, leads this project addressing how different antibiotic treatment strategies impact the gut microbiome and the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes. The team will utilise ground-breaking sequencing technology to link the genes underlying AMR to their bacteria reservoir; consequently, revealing targets for future therapeutic inventions such as vaccines. Prof O'Connor will collaborate with colleagues in the Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Pediatrics and Centre for Global Health Research.

Structure-guided inhibition of Mtr efflux pump expression

This drug discovery project led by Dr Thomas Lanyon-Hogg, Department of Pharmacology, seeks to develop inhibitors that will block expression of the MtrCDE multidrug efflux pump in the bacterium which causes gonorrhea, cases of which have increased 300% in the UK alongside a rise in resistance to last-resort antibiotics. Dr Lanyon-Hogg will collaborate with colleagues in Oxford’s Department of Biology, Centre for Medicines Discovery and Dunn School of Pathology for this project.

Supporting appropriate antibiotic use with evidence-based CRP point-of-care testing in patients with COPD in primary care in Wales

Behavioural scientists Dr Aleksandra (Ola) Borek and Prof Sarah Tonkin-Crine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, will lead an interdisciplinary team of social scientists and health economists to explore and test how behaviour change interventions can support general practices to use point-of-care tests (POCT), particularly amongst patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Wales. The project will generate crucial evidence to inform policy on POCT implementation at a national and international scale. They will collaborate with colleagues in the Nuffield Department of Population Health and the Big Data Institute. 

A microfluidics-enabled imaging platform for rapid bacterial identification and AMR detection

Led by Prof Achillefs Kapanidis, Department of Physics and co-Deputy Director of Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Discovery, this project aims to develop a diagnostic platform for the rapid identification of bacterial pathogens in biological specimens and determination of their antibiotic susceptibility profile. Prof 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.

There are over 200 researchers across the University of Oxford working to tackle AMR. Visit the Oxford AMR Network to learn more about their projects.