Four UK universities received research grants to fight AMR

Multimillion grants have been awarded to four UK universities to conduct interdisciplinary research into the biological, social, cultural and economic drivers behind the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in low and middle income countries (LMICs) opens in new window.

The AMR in a Global Context Consortia awards, totalling £12 million (approximately €13.7 million), have been jointly funded by the cross-research council AMR initiative and the National Institute for Health Research opens in new window’s (NIHR) Global Health Research Programme.

The four winning consortia, led by teams at the University of Bristol, the University of St. Andrews, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Glasgow, are the result of a raft of innovative development awards and workshops to improve capacity and collaboration in both the UK and partner countries.

The three-year awards will draw together UK groups with researchers and policy makers in partner countries. They will use a range of research approaches, from clinical and microbiological to geography, modelling and social sciences, in order to identify, prioritise and understand the specific problem of antibacterial resistance (ABR) across different communities and environments in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Thailand. The consortia will operate in contrasting areas of high and low resistance including urban, semi-urban and rural settings, allowing a unique comparison of geographical, economic and social contexts, to better inform future interventions to prevent the spread of infections and resistance.

The projects will contribute to the UK’s commitment to Official Development Assistance (ODA). The research councils’ contribution will be made through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)opens in new window which supports cutting-edge research addressing the problems faced by developing countries.

The NIHR contribution will be made through its Global Health Research ODA allocation which is aimed at supporting internationally outstanding applied research for the direct and primary benefit of patients and the public in LMICs.