Oxford University researchers contributing significantly to fight against microbial resistance

The drug-resistant infections are growing rapidly and it is predicted that by 2050, more than 10 million deaths annually will be caused due to this reason. The scientists at Oxford University are continuously working to find a solution.

Study in UK: In 2021, Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research (IOI) was established to advance antimicrobial research. Since then, the graduate students of Oxford are also studying to find out solutions to tackle this growing threat of microbial resistance which is expected to claim over 10 million deaths annually by 2050.

IOI currently has around 34 DPhil students from around the world, the research projects there focus on the spread and impact of antimicrobial resistance around the world and they are also trying to develop new antibiotics to treat these diseases.

“Designing creative experiments is the best part of my work. It can be challenging when there are huge numbers of samples to analyse, and trying to figure out how the bacterial transmission networks fit together, but the project is very rewarding. The opportunity to work with the team in Kano, who are equally as passionate about the project has been amazing," said Kate Cook, a DPhil student.

She is currently doing research work at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano, Nigeria. She is trying to find out the reasons behind the wound infections in orthopaedic and surgical wards. She is also trying to understand the roles of insects like cockroaches, flies and ants in spreading bacteria in tropical climates.

Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research Study: More Details

PhD student Shonnette Premchand-Branker is studying insects specifically flies' role. Under the IOI study, she is researching how flies contribute to the spreading of antibiotic resistance in hospitals.

“The flies are sent to our lab in Oxford after they have been collected and labelled in hospitals. They arrive whole, so our first step is to homogenise them, which basically means we make fly juice. The next step is to prepare bacterial cultures, and then extract and sequence their DNA. We’re looking for antimicrobial resistance genes that we know are related to multidrug-resistant infections," she said.

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