They will share £4.8 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), awarded as part of its tackling infections strategic theme. This programme will continue next year with a new opportunity for ambitious new transdisciplinary research programmes, drawing on a dedicated budget of at least £7 million.

Queen's University will lead on the Futures AMR Network (FAN). FAN will support early career researchers across a range of disciplines to become future leaders in the AMR field. It will tackle AMR in the areas of agri-food health, environment and medicine using approaches in the arts and artificial intelligence (AI), behavioural economics, clinical engineering and discovery.

The new networks will support diverse teams of AMR researchers, ranging from specialists in agriculture, food and the environment to human and animal medicine, policy and behavioural studies, engineering and social science.

FAN’s community of early career researchers will offer a continuous stream of insights, exploration and innovation in future AMR. 

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Linda Oyama (QUB lead) said;

I am delighted that Futures AMR Network (FAN) has been awarded a UKRI grant to tackle the critical challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which poses significant risks to global health, economies, and food systems. Our vision is to harness young talent to provide innovative solutions to the AMR challenge. By connecting and expanding UK AMR communities with researchers from a broad range of disciplines and career stages, we aim to significantly advance current understanding, generate new ideas, and escalate discoveries beyond what is achievable from a single discipline or career stage.

The vision of FAN is both exciting and innovative, focusing on connecting and developing early career researchers (ECRs) across disciplines to generate novel ideas and research in Agri-Food Health, Environment, and Medicine. This innovative initiative harnesses the expertise of ECRs from diverse disciplines, collaborating with seasoned AMR experts to develop dynamic, cross-sector solutions. We are committed to fostering inclusive, equitable, and cohesive UK AMR communities to tackle systematic inequalities through effective communication channels and sustained partnerships to drive impactful research and innovations in AMR. The leadership of ECRs in FAN underscores their vital role in shaping sustainable solutions to this global health threat, and my fellow ECR co-leads and I cannot wait to work with our members to achieve these goals

The QUB-led Futures AMR Network (FAN) features the following co-leads and partners;

• Alberto Longo, Project co-lead - Queen's University Belfast
• Katie Lawther, Project co-lead - Queen's University Belfast
• Janice Spencer, Project co-lead - Glasgow Caledonian University
• Nikhil Bhalla, Project co-lead - Ulster University
• Mojgan Rabiey, Project co-lead - University of Warwick

Partners;

• Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, London
• Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast
• Ulster University School of Art, Belfast
• Freedman Scientific, Lincoln

For more information on the seven other funded networks, please click here

 

Dr Linda Oyama

Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Food Security

View Profile