OHAMR Call for proposals 2026

General Information

• Type: Partner looking for project
• Organisation: Bar-Ilan University
• Country: Israel (IL)
• Career stage: Other.

Research area

• Scientific area(s) of the call:
  1. Topic 1: Identify and develop new combination treatments using existing or innovative antimicrobials or antimicrobial with adjunctive treatments to extend drug efficacy and combat resistance.
• One Health Setting:

  H - Human Health

• Keywords:

  Microbial ecology; Networks; Models

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

  We develop and apply mathematical modeling, network theory, and novel computational methods to analyze heterogeneous high-throughput data from microbial communities. Our goal is to uncover general, predictive principles that govern the dynamics, stability, and function of large, complex biological systems, with direct relevance to antimicrobial efficacy and resistance. In recent years, we introduced a top-down computational framework for microbial networks that bypasses the need for detailed mechanistic or interaction-level inference. This approach enables robust identification of collective behaviors, key taxa, and system-level constraints directly from data, even in highly complex and variable ecosystems. Such methods are particularly suited for studying microbial responses to perturbations, combination treatments, and strategies aimed at extending antimicrobial effectiveness. Our work has been published in leading journals and includes: Universality of human microbial dynamics, Nature (2016) Complexity–stability trade-off in empirical microbial ecosystems, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022) Top-down identification of keystone taxa in the microbiome, Nature Communications (2023) Model-free prediction of microbiome compositions, Microbiome (2024) We bring expertise in data-driven modeling, network-level analysis, and predictive frameworks that can complement experimental and clinical efforts to design and evaluate novel antimicrobial and combination treatment strategies.

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

  We seek to contribute to a project aimed at improving antimicrobial treatments by leveraging ecological interactions within the microbiome. We propose that personalized manipulation and steering of the microbiome toward alternative stable states can naturally suppress the abundance of target pathogens, thereby enhancing treatment efficacy and durability. By integrating data-driven modeling with experimental or clinical approaches, this strategy can support antimicrobial interventions and help limit the emergence of resistance.

Amir Bashan

• Organisation: Bar-Ilan University
• Position: Associate Professor
• E-mail: amir.bashan@biu.ac.il
• Phone: 972544689355
• Web: bashanlab.ph.biu.ac.il/