Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a threat to global health, food security and achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
However, according to the WHO tracking AMR country self-assessment survey (TrACSS) of 2023, 78% of primary and secondary school children do not receive education on antimicrobial resistance.
To overcome this gap, researchers at the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) in collaboration with Oxford’s Department of Chemistry Outreach Team have created a suite of outreach activities called ‘Crush the bugs’ to raise awareness and highlight the different ways of tackling AMR.
Developed for secondary school students, the outreach programmes are aligned with the GCSE science curriculum while also grounded on IOI‘s drug discovery programme.
‘Bug Fight!’ is an in-school workshop educating Key Stage 4 students (aged 14-18) about the process of finding and developing effective antibiotic treatments. The workshop draws on IOI research on combination therapies for drug-resistant infections. These treatments combine an antibiotic with a bacterial enzyme inhibitor which stops the bacteria from breaking down the antibiotic so it can successfully treat infections.
Interactive experiments such as puzzles made of Lego challenge students to think like a researcher and make decisions on drug development based on their results.
A key feature of the workshop is a Q&A session with researchers from the University of Oxford, where students learn more about varied career journeys, university life and more.
In addition to local delivery in Oxfordshire schools, the Department of Chemistry outreach team regularly take the workshop on their flagship Chemistry Road Show, visiting state schools across the UK.
Since development in 2022/3, 1,784 students across 22 schools in Oxfordshire, Dorset, Cornwall, Buckinghamshire, North Wales, and South Yorkshire have taken part in Bug Fight!.
The more people that know what antibiotic resistance is, the more people can take action. Whether this is taking your full course of antibiotics or one day becoming a researcher actively looking for solutions, we want to inspire the next generation to play an active role in combatting antibiotic resistance.
Battle the Bugs!
‘Battle the Bugs!’ was developed by the IOI and the Chemistry Teaching Laboratory (CTL) at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with the History of Science Museum, and Trinity College.
The day involves a carousel of activities to provide students with opportunities to interact with scientists, learn more about the University of Oxford's work on life-saving medicines, and gain hands-on laboratory experience by synthesising their own antifungal compound.
Students engage with Oxford’s long history of antibiotic research, including following the stories of Alexander Fleming and Dorothy Hodgkin-Crawford's work on penicillin, and speaking to researchers working on finding new antibiotics today.
By making science accessible to students, we hope to demystify the work taking place in Oxford and excite students about further education and careers in science. I hope that these workshops showcase how varied a career in science can be and this will encourage many students – particularly those underrepresented in science – to pursue such a career.
