Antibiotics have been a crucial treatment against infection for the past century. However, the increasing use of antibiotics globally has also resulted in the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens.
If unchallenged, worst-case scenarios predict 10 million deaths globally per year in relation to AMR-related infections by 2050. Combined with a lack of healthcare guidelines for antibiotic prescriptions in numerous countries, this increase in AMR could lead to even further complications with regards to treatment of bacterial infections in the future.
Current surveillance systems to monitor the incidence of resistant infections are focused only on reported infections. A more complete understanding of the prevalence of AMR can be achieved by including healthy individuals. This more comprehensive approach will help highlight latent and emerging threats from resistant bacteria present in the human population.
More recently, we have metagenomic DNA sequence data available from environmental sources such as wastewater and soil has provided useful insights into the prevalence and distribution of AMR around the world. This data can be used not just as a surveillance tool, but also to gain insight into how resistance is spreading across humans, domestic animals, wildlife and the environment and to identify the types of AMR genes that pose the biggest threat to human health in the future. The availability of global metagenomic data will not only allow comparisons to be made both spatial and temporal but also help understand changes in the local AMR landscape, for example, within a city like Edinburgh or in a hospital.
Previous studies at the University of Edinburgh using metagenomic data have provided insights into systemic differences in AMR gene diversity between continents. However, further quantification of these genes, and identifying the bacterial species associated with them, has yet to be undertaken. The use of sewage could lead to identifying not only key classes of pathogens possessing AMR genes, but also identify drivers of resistance. These drivers could be environmental in nature, or from anthropogenic elements, such as agricultural leaching or hospital wastewater.
This project aims to highlight the importance of environmental factors, adding to our overall understanding of the distribution of ARG’s that could be used to inform policymakers, veterinarians & clinicians about the prevalence of AMR, and how it could change over time as environmental factors, such as temperature or agricultural intensity fluctuate in relation to climate.
Application Process:
EASTBIO Application and Reference Forms can be downloaded via http://www.eastscotbiodtp.ac.uk/how-apply-0
Please send your completed EASTBIO Application Form along with a copy of your academic transcripts to [Email Address Removed]
You should also ensure that two references have been sent to [Email Address Removed] by the deadline using the EASTBIO Reference Form.
Please refer to Get a studentship to fund your doctorate – UKRI and Annex B of the UKRI-291020-guidance-to-training-grant-terms-and-conditions.pdf for full eligibility criteria.
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