17th JPIAMR transnational call for research projects - AMR Interventions 2024 (IMPACT)

General Information

• Project title: Integrative Metagenomic Surveillance for Antimicrobial Resistance in Oncology Patients
• Type: Project looking for partner
• Organisation: Hospital Physiotherapy Institutes - Regina Elena and San Gallicano Institute - IRCCS
• Country: (IT)
• Career stage: Early Career Researcher (up to 8 years** since PhD).

Research area

• Scientific area(s) of the call:
  1. Topic 2: Improve and/or, compare and/or evaluate strategies, technologies, treatments, methods, protocols or data collection based on existing interventions, aiming to prevent or reduce the emergence or spread of antibacterial or antifungal resistance or to treat/cure infections caused by resistant bacteria/fungi and recommend new policies.
• Subtopics:
  1. Improve and/or compare and/ or evaluate the effectiveness of existing interventions (e.g. cost effectiveness clinical utility, socio-economic adaptability, reducing AMR emergence, spread, transmission, treatment etc.)
  2. Identify the barriers to uptake, including factors leading to the success or failure of previously run pilot interventions, and when applicable design solutions to overcome them.

• One Health Setting:

  Human Health

• Keywords:

  Oncology; microbiome;AMR genes;mycobiome;ematology;

• Brief description of your expertise / expertise you are looking for:

  I am seeking a collaborative partner who possesses substantial expertise in metagenomic shotgun sequencing, along with a strong background in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The ideal partner will have a demonstrated history of working with complex microbial communities and analyzing metagenomic data to identify and characterize resistance genes. Experience with microbial ecology and the dissemination of AMR mechanisms would be highly beneficial for our collaborative research endeavors.

• Brief description of your project / the project you would like to join:

  The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to global public health, particularly oncological patient care. Immunosuppressive cancer therapies increase susceptibility to infections, necessitating the use of antibiotics and contributing to the rise of AMR. This, in turn, can undermine the efficacy of cancer treatments and worsen patient outcomes. Our project explores the relationship between the human bacteriome-mycobiome, AMR genes, and pathogens across the upper respiratory tract and gut of oncology patients. Employing metagenome shotgun sequencing will result in an exhaustive analysis of the microbial ecosystems and their associated AMR gene profiles. Through a well-defined case-control study, we intend to pinpoint microbiome signatures and genetic markers correlating with an elevated risk of AMR infections. By integrating clinical insights with microbiological, genomic, and metagenomic data, our interdisciplinary approach aims to refine interventions to combat AMR. This project is committed to advancing the standards of patient care by addressing the urgent issue of antimicrobial resistance within the realm of oncology.

Fulvia Pimpinelli

• Organisation: Hospital Physiotherapy Institutes - Regina Elena and San Gallicano Institute - IRCCS
• Position: Medical Director - UOSD Microbiology and Virology
• E-mail: fulvia.pimpinelli@ifo.it
• Phone: +390652666877
• Web: www.ifo.it/