OHAMR Call for proposals 2026

General Information

• Type: Partner looking for project
• Organisation: Leeds Beckett University
• Country: United Kingdom (UK)
• 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

  E - Environment

• Keywords:

  AMR; repurposing; combinatorial; MDR pathogens

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

  I am a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences and established my independent research group in 2023, focusing on three interconnected themes. My primary interest lies in developing novel treatment strategies for infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The aim is to enhance and augment the activity of existing antibiotics by using them in conjunction with drugs used to treat other diseases such as cancer, high blood sugar etc. My other two areas of research interest include – 1) understanding the interplay between microbiota in the human nose (commensals) and pathogen (mainly methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and 2) development of point-of-care diagnostic tests to rapidly detect bacterial sepsis which can facilitate the prompt application of antibiotic treatment. By identifying novel therapeutic strategies to treat bacterial infections, developing inexpensive ways to rapidly detect a bacterial pathogen during infection and elucidating factors which facilitate pathogen-commensal interactions, my research aims to have a significant impact on public health. I have extensive expertise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), microbial genetics, AMR gene transfer, pre-clinical evaluation of antibacterial compounds, assay development and innovative therapeutic strategies. My research integrates bacteriology, molecular microbiology, genomics and cell biology approaches to develop combinatorial therapies that overcome resistance in clinically relevant pathogens.

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

  Projects I would like to join: The projects that I am interested in contributing to are ones looking to (i) characterise the antimicrobial activity profile of novel compounds against ESKAPE pathogens; (ii) assess combinatorial activity; (iii) undertake resistance development studies and elucidate mechanisms of resistance; (iv) undertake pre-clinical evaluation of those compounds. Brief description of my project: Over the past few years, I have been working on identifying novel treatment strategies for infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. The approach is using non-antibiotic drugs to enhance and augment the activity of clinically relevant antibiotics. Initial findings from my research group have shown that antineoplastic agent X exhibits antibacterial activity against some ESKAPE pathogens and augments the activity of clinically relevant antibiotics against S. aureus. Currently, a PhD student in the group is working with FDA-approved membrane-ion channel inhibitors to enhance the activity of anti-staphylococcal compounds. The current project proposes ‘hijacking’ the inhibitory activity of antineoplastic agents to enhance the activity of clinically used antibiotics against ESKAPE pathogens. Research within the project to investigate repurposing antineoplastic agents will employ the following techniques – i) 2D checkerboard/combinatorial assays to assess synergy between antineoplastic agent and clinically relevant antibiotics, ii) 96-well plate and catheter-based models to assess anti-biofilm activity, (iii) phenotypic and genotypic characterisation of spontaneous resistant mutants, (iv) mode-of-action determination using gene knock-out library, gene cloning, and whole genome sequencing, (v) screening against a panel of clinical isolates to assess range of antibacterial activity and identify cross-resistance, (vi) a Galleria infection model to assess efficacy of selected combinations. I would be looking for researchers with experience with Galleria infection models and those with experience in developing/producing structurally modified compounds.

Arya Gupta

• Organisation: Leeds Beckett University
• Position: Senior Lecturer
• E-mail: a.gupta@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
• Web: aryaguptalab.my.canva.site/