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Six NCOH-AMR projects granted by JPI-AMR

The third call JPI-AMR “Transmission Dynamics” has resulted in six granted NCOH projects.
The primary aim of this open call is to combine the resources, infrastructures, and research strengths of multiple countries in order to address transmission of antibiotic resistance following a ‘One Health Approach’.

The goal of “Transmission Dynamics” is to foster multinational research collaborations to add value to and build upon the research conducted independently at national level and to work together to improve the control of resistant bacterial infections of clinical and/or veterinary importance only.

STARCS

The central aim of STARCS (Selection and Transmission of Antimicrobial Resistance in Complex Systems) is to characterize and quantify the processes of selection and transmission of AMR genes and drug-resistant bacteria in complex (eco)systems from a One Health perspective and to integrate these elements into predictive mathematical models, which will be used to inform policy development.

The STARC project will (i) develop and implement innovative metagenomics methodologies to map the expression of AMR genes and their linkage to bacterial hosts and mobile genetic elements in human, animal, and environmental samples, (ii) use relevant animal models and observational studies to analyse and quantify the processes of selection and transmission of drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (specifically ESBL-producing E. coli), and (iii) implement state-of-the-art epidemiological modelling to quantify the spread of ESBL-producing E. coli between humans and animals.

STARCS is coordinated by Willem van Schaik (UMC Utrecht) in collaboration with Dik Mevius (Wageningen University and Research / Wageningen Bioveterinary Research). There are 5 other international participants from Sweden, Spain, France, UK and Belgium.

EMerGE-Net

The EMerGE-Net project (Effectiveness of infection control strategies against intra- and inter-hospital transmission of MultidruG-resistant Enterobacteriaceae – insights from a multi-level mathematical NeTwork model) aims to develop a generic network model to study the transmission dynamics of MDR-E within and between hospitals in various European countries. The consortium will apply targeted sequencing methods to study transmissibility of different strains of MDR-E. Finally, it will conduct scenario analyses to identify effective and feasible intervention strategies.

The EMerGE-Net project is coordinated by Rafael Mikolajczyk (Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Germany). Mirjam Kretzschmar (UMC Utrecht) is one of the participants.

HECTOR

AMR transmission within E. coli appears dominated by certain lineages. To what extent these lineages are host restricted is unknown. The HECTOR project (the impact of Host restriction of Escherichia coli on Transmission dynamics and spread of antimicrobial Resistance) aims to identify determinants of host restriction of E. coli and their potential association with AMR transmission, using whole genome sequencing, experimental animal models, and mathematical modelling.

The HECTOR project is coordinated by Constance Schultsz (AMC) and contains 5 other partners from UK, Germany and Spain.

MACOTRA

The aims of MACOTRA (MrsA COntrol of TRAnsmission) are to develop and provide a framework for evaluating differences in transmission of MRSA, to unravel the different contributions to clonal successes on a genetic and population level, and to develop a mathematical model which predicts and unravels the rise and shine of clones.

The MACOTRA project is coordinated by Margreet Vos (AMC). Other consortium partners are from UK and France.

MODERN

The MODERN project (Understanding and modelling reservoirs, vehicles and transmission of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the community and long term care facilities) will study transmission and persistence of ESBL-PE within households and long-term care facilities. Individual and group-level determinants for transmission and persistence will be quantified, together with other ecological variables including environmental, food, and wastewater contamination. Advanced molecular typing techniques, state-of-the-art statistical methods, and mathematical modeling will be used.

The MODERN project is coordinated by Jesús Rodríguez-Baño (Hospital Universitario VirgenMacarena, Spain). Jan Kluytmans (UMC Utrecht) participates as one of the partners.

Restrict-Pneumo-AMR

The Restrict-Pneumo-AMR project (Prevention and Restriction of Antimicrobial Resistance in Pneumococci by Multi-Level Modelling) aims to understand the mechanisms and distribution of pneumococcal AMR repertoire at the genetic, bacterial, host, and population levels to layout new strategies for risk assessment, prevention, and reduction of AMR. In particular, the environmental, immunological, and pharmacological drivers of resistance emergence and selection, the genetic population dynamics as well as the fitness of the new traits in different host conditions will be analysed and modelled.

The Restrict-Pneumo-AMR project is coordinated by Stephen Bentley (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK). Tom van der Poll (AMC) participates as one of the partners.