OHAMR Call for proposals 2026

General Information

• Project title: Optimised combination treatment for infections caused by multidrug resistant E. coli
• Type: Project looking for partner
• Organisation: UK Health Security Agency
• 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

  A - Animal Health

• Keywords:

  MDR E.coli discovering new synergistic combinations of existing antibiotics unbiased HTS Reference laboratory screening standardised assays

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

  Dr Bacon , PI Discovery group, at UKHSA is leading the project and has more than 27 years in AMR research and unique facilities for microbial growth models, (including 3D ex-vivo models, biofilms, fermentation) molecular microbiology, and antibiotic screening and evaluation. In addition to our applied research, the Discovery group, has fundamental projects to understand antibiotic resistance evolution, co-infection, and host-pathogen interaction.

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

  The novel approach that will be taken in the proposed project is to identify combinations of existing antibiotics that are synergistic against MDR E.coli, using an unbiased approach. There is a treasure trove of old and new antibiotics that can be revisited and screened using standardised and unbiased technologies. Using this approach, we can extend the usefulness of current antibiotics that have known profiles and have already been licensed for patient care. Through our project will we potential utility of synergistic combinations, and enable a pathway for roll-out of optimised susceptibility testing of combination antibiotics against current and future emerging strains available in reference laboratories, both in the human and animal health. We are seeking partners who are researchers are working in veterinary AMR and would be interested in screening for distinct combinations of antibiotics that would be specifically useful in animals and poultry. And working with us to ensure that what we do in the human health aspects does not clash with considerations around AMR in animal health. That there is mutual benefit. We also seek an ECR scientist who has knowledge and expertise in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, particularly in hollowfibre modelling of antibiotic combinations for E.coli, so that we can characterise the combinations further.

Dr Joanna Bacon

• Organisation: UK Health Security Agency
• Position: Principal Investigator, Discovery Group
• E-mail: joanna.bacon@ukhsa.gov.uk
• Web: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency