The Management Board appoints members of the JPIAMR Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), which consists of top international researchers in the AMR field. The SAB provides advice to the MB regarding scientific priorities with particular focus on workshops and JPIAMR calls for proposals. The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) administers the SAB.
Scientific Advisory Board Members
- Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain
- Till Bachmann, Chair, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Rafael Cantón, University Hospital Ramón y Cajal and Complutense University, Spain
- Tania Dottorini, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Uga Dumpis, Pauls Stradiņš University Hospital, Latvia
- Sabiha Essack, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
- Christian Giske, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Luca Guardabassi, Vice-Chair, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Claire Harpet, Lyon 3 University, France
- Tom Harrison, St George’s University of London, United Kingdom
- Geetanjali Kapoor, Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, India
- Joakim Larsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Marc Lemonnier, Antabio, France
- Chantal Morel, University of Bern, Switzerland
- Luísa Vieira Peixe, University of Porto, Portugal
- Constance Schultsz, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Kornelia Smalla, Julius Kühn Institute, Germany
- Jordi Vila, Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, University of Barcelona and Institute for Global Health, Spain
SAB members’ biographies
Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo
Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo is a research scientist at the Mycology Reference Laboratory of Spain. She has a PhD in microbiology and a MsC in bioinformatics. After completing her degree she was a Postdoctoral researcher at the Public Health Research Institute (New Jersey, USA) working in antifungal resistance. She joined the Mycology Reference Laboratory at the Spanish National Centre for Microbiology (Madrid, Spain) in 2011 where she leads the moulds unit. She has been a visitor Scientist at The Fungal Biodiversity Centre (CBS, Utrecht, The Netherlands), Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT, Seibersdorf, Austria) and European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, UK). Her main area of research is focused in Medical mycology: Identification and early diagnosis of invasive fungal infections, standardization of antifungal susceptibility testing methods, resistance mechanisms to antifungals and taxonomy of fungal species. She has published over 130 peer reviewed papers, including several guidelines for diagnosis of fungal infections. She chairs the Fungal priority Pathogens list of WHO, is the current chair of the EFISG Study group from ESCMID, the director of Latin-American programs for GAFFI (Global Action Fund for Fungal infections), Spanish delegate in the ECMM (European Confederation of Medical Mycology) board, Fellow of the ECMM (FECMM), vice president of the Spanish Society for Mycology (AEM) and the co-supervisor of the EUPHEM (European Public Health Microbiology training program) from ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) in Spain.
Till Bachmann, Chair
Till Bachmann is Deputy Head of the Division of Infection and Pathway Medicine, Programme Director of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and Biomedical Sciences MSc and PhD programmes at The University of Edinburgh and the Zhejiang University – University of Edinburgh Institute in China. Till has a PhD on biosensors from research at University of Stuttgart and The University of Tokyo and a German Habilitation in Analytical Biotechnology. He is an expert in point of care detection of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, conducting research at the interface of biomarkers and rapid diagnostics. Till is coordinator of the UK-India project ‘DOSA – Diagnostics for One Health and User Driven Solutions for AMR’, the JPIAMR Network AMR Dx Global, succeeding the JPIAMR Transnational Working Group on Rapid Diagnostic Tests. Till fulfils a variety of industrial and institutional advisory roles worldwide. As such he is member of the UK AMR Diagnostic Collaborative, Panel Member for the Longitude Prize on Antibiotics, Scientific Advisory Board member Devices & Diagnostics under National Biopharma Mission of the Indian BIRAC, and founder of AMR DxC – the Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics Challenge competition.
Rafael Cantón
Rafael Cantón, PhD, is the Head of the Clinical Microbiology Department at the University Hospital Ramón y Cajal (Madrid, Spain) and is associated Professor of Clinical Microbiology at School of Pharmacy at Complutense University (Madrid, Spain). His research activity is developed within the Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI, http://reipi.org/) and Institute Ramón y Cajal for Health Research (IRYCIS, http://www.irycis.org) and is focussed on antimicrobial susceptibility testing and surveillance, characterization of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms and interplay with high-risk clones, and respiratory tract infections (mainly in cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis patients). He has participated in different EU projects from 6th (COBRA-LSHM-CT-2003-503335) and 7th FP (TROCAR-223031, R-GNOSIS-FP7-HEALTH-F3-2011-282512, MON4STRAT-FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1-602906-2) programs and is currently part of H2020 (FAST-BACT-730713, BADGER-784514) and IMI (COMBATE-CARE-115620-2, iABC-115721-2) projects. He has published more than 440 articles in medical journals and 50 chapters in teaching books.
He is currently Clinical Data Coordinator of the European Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) and member of the Spanish Antimicrobial Committee (COESANT). He has been Chairman of EUCAST (2012-2016), President of Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC, 2016-2017), Founder President of the Study Group of Mechanisms of Action and Resistance of Antimicrobials (GEMARA) from SEIMC (2000-2005), associated editor of Clinical Microbiology and Infection journal and member of the editorial board of Journal Clinical Microbiology. He is coeditor of the Clinical Microbiology Procedures of the SEIMC (www.seimc.org).
Tania Dottorini
Tania Dottorini is Associate Professor in Bioinformatics at the Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science (since June, 2016). Previously, she was a research fellow at the Imperial College London (2011 – 2016). Her research themes include the development of novel bioinformatics and machine learning solutions to understand and diagnose infectious diseases in humans and animals. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Structural Biology and Bioinformatics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
“My current interests are in the development of original methods and algorithms to gain deeper insight in biological problems related to human and animal health. To this purpose in my research I try to merge different disciplines and knowledge/skills, including bioinformatics and machine learning to develop predictive models and solve data mining tasks, in particular in scenarios involving large-scale data analysis from omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, etc). My research themes include the development of novel solutions to understand and diagnose infectious diseases. I am particularly interested in the study of insurgence and propagation of antimicrobial resistance in humans, animals and environemt under the One Health approach.”
Uga Dumpis
MD, PhD, DTM Infectious Diseases Physician, Head of Department, Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Professor in Infectious Diseases, University of Latvia. Main areas of his scientific interest is antimicrobial resistance, severe infections, hospital epidemiology, antimicrobial stewardship, and behavioral science. He has participated as local PI in multiple international clinical intervention trials with particular focus on intensive care units (MOSAR, PROHIBIT), has also held Latvian research grants on quality of inpatient and outpatient prescriptions of antimicrobials using point prevalence protocols and social antropology approach. He has been a member of various international networks and expert groups on AMR within activities by ESCMID, ECDC, WHO, EMA and EC. He is also EMA Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) Core member and member of EC Scientific Advice Panel on Covid19.
Sabiha Essack
Professor Sabiha Essack (B. Pharm., M. Pharm., PhD) is the South African Research Chair in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health and Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa.
She is the Vice Chairperson of the World Health Organization Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (STAG-AMR) and Senior Implementation Research Advisor at the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) in Denmark. Professor Essack is chairperson of the Global Respiratory Infection Partnership (GRIP), serves on the Advisory Board of the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), the Fleming Fund Expert Advisory Group and is a member of the Wellcome Trust Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug Resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC). Her current research interests include evidence-informed strategies for the prevention and containment of antibiotic resistance; the molecular epidemiology, pathogenomics and metagenomics of antibiotic resistance ; and, health policy and health systems strengthening to optimize the management of infections in the context of AMR and antimicrobial stewardship.
Christian Giske
Christian G. Giske is a full professor of clinical bacteriology and head of clinical microbiology and immunology at the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Karolinska Institute, where he also leads a research group. He is also the chief physician of bacteriology, mycobacteriology and mycology at Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden. The most important research activities in Giske’s research group pertain to deep-characterization of molecular mechanisms of resistance, virulence, and molecular epidemiology of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) enteric bacilli.The group also works with bacteriophage therapy of XDR enteric bacilli. Giske’s research is strongly translational, involving extensive collaboration with infectious diseases (including mycobacteriology), hematology, and intensive care. Giske has extensive international collaboration, serving in the advisory board of ECDC’s European resistance surveillance, and as the chair of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing.
Luca Guardabassi, Vice-Chair
Luca Guardabassi received his DVM from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pisa (Italy) in 1994. He developed his career as a microbiologist in Denmark, where he completed his PhD in Veterinary Microbiology at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in 2000 and became Professor at the University of Copenhagen in 2012. Since 2005, he is de facto Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Public Health (ECVPH). He joined the Royal Veterinary College in December 2018 and continues to work half-time for the University of Copenhagen as Professor on One Health Antimicrobial Resistance. Among his honorary offices, Luca is the chair of the Therapeutic Guidelines Group in the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) and the Science Officer of the Veterinary Microbiology Group in the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).
His research focuses on the molecular, epidemiological and clinical aspects of antimicrobial resistance, ranging from the origins of antimicrobial resistance to the discovery of new antibacterial strategies.
Claire Harpet
Claire Harpet is Doctor in anthropology at the University Jean Moulin Lyon 3 (UMR 5600 EVS, Chair “Values of care”, Faculty of Philosophy). The question of the relationship between humans and their environment is the common thread of her anthropological research. She seeks to understand how human societies represent and act on their environment and health in a globalized world, in the 21st century. Her research is applied in nature, and conducted in an interdisciplinary manner, including (i) in ecology: on the representations and uses of nature, the involvement of local populations in the management and preservation of natural environments, and the adaptation and resilience capacities of societies facing ecological risks; and (ii) in health: on the plural therapeutic approaches and the ways in which individuals apprehend morbidity and care in a context of ecological and health crisis. Recently, she has focused on the problem of antibiotic resistance, which she describes as a “total social fact”.
Tom Harrison
Tom Harrison is Professor of Infectious Diseases and Medicine, Lead for the Centre for Global Health, and Deputy Director of the Institute for Infection and Immunity, at St Georges University of London, Infectious Diseases Consultant at St Georges Hospital, London, and Professor in Medical Mycology at the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter. He trained in Infectious Diseases in London and Boston, USA, and lead a clinical and laboratory research programme on the prevention and treatment of cryptococcal meningitis with colleagues from the UK and across sites in Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes the development and delivery of phase II and major phase III trials. He is also involved in phase II and III clinical trials on the chemotherapy of tuberculosis, with the aim of reducing the duration and simplifying therapy. He has served on the WHO, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and Southern African HIV Clinicians Society’s cryptococcal guidelines committees, on the MRC (UK) Infection and Immunity Board, and is a member of the WHO Expert Group on Fungal Pathogens.
Geetanjali Kapoor
Dr Geetanjali Kapoor is a physician, specialized in medical microbiology and public health. She did her MD (Microbiology) from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh (India) followed by Senior Residency from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (India). She has done her Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University (USA) and is a Fellow in General Infectious Diseases from Christian Medical College, Vellore (India).
As a Research Fellow for Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), Geetanjali supports the Fleming Fund regional grant for Africa. She has co-authored CDDEP’s ‘State of the World’s Antibiotics Report 2021’. Previously, as a Clinical Microbiologist, she developed the antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention programs for a private hospital in India and managed viral diagnostics for Public Health Laboratories in Kuwait. She has worked with the World Health Organization and Save the Children, and contributed to the development of India’s national infection prevention guidelines.
Joakim Larsson
Joakim Larsson is a Professor in Environmental Pharmacology at the Department of Infectious Disease, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He received his PhD in animal physiology in 2000 in Gothenburg, and after two years of guest research in Canada and USA, he decided to combine his interest for the environment with medicine. He became associate professor in human physiology in 2007 and full professor in 2013. From 2016 he is director for the multidisciplinary Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe) at University of Gothenburg, involving +100 researches from six faculties. Larsson has (co)-authored more than 185 papers, and he is among the 1% most highly cited researchers on Web of Science according to Clarivate Analytics. His earlier work on environmental pollution from drug manufacturing, and his research on selective concentrations of antibiotics has contributed various management initiatives across the world. His current research focus on the environmental dimensions of antibiotic resistance. Ongoing projects include e.g. research on: the role of antibiotics and biocides in the evolution of antibiotic resistance; understanding the evolutionary history of antibiotic resistance acquisition in pathogens; exploration of the environmental resistome for novel resistance genes; surveillance of resistance in the human population using sewage bacteria; environmental transmission of resistant pathogens; as well as both technical and societal measures to reduce environmental pollution with antibiotics and antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Marc Lemonnier
Marc Lemonnier is the CEO and co-founder of Antabio, a leading European company in antibiotic development, and a member of the Board of the European Alliance of Biopharmaceutical companies combating Anti-Microbial resistance (BEAM Alliance). A molecular microbiologist by training, Marc is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles in the field of pathogenic bacterial infections and their biology. Prior to founding Antabio, Marc held different research positions at various institutions globally such as CNRS and Inserm (France), CSIC (Spain) and Emory University (USA). Under Marc’s leadership, Antabio has attracted double-digit million funding and received numerous awards including a CARB-X award (2017), the BIOVISION Investment Conference Award (2016), the “Concours Mondial de l’Innovation” Worldwide Innovation Challenge (2014), and two Seeding Drug Discovery Awards from the Wellcome Trust (2013 and 2015).
Chantal Morel
Dr Chantal Morel is a health economist specialising in infectious diseases, and in economic issues related to antimicrobial resistance in particular. Her research focusses on the use of new financing arrangements and systemic incentives to bolster innovation in the antibiotic pipeline to produce better products, improve surveillance of resistance, support antibiotic stewardship, and increase access to antibiotics where clinical need is currently unmet by supply. This includes much emphasis on the dynamics within key health technology markets, such as for anti-infectives, diagnostics, and vaccines. Morel also does much work in estimating the economic cost of antimicrobial resistance across the One Health sectors – human, animal, and environmental health – and on the investment case for tackling AMR on both a global and national level.
Luísa Vieira Peixe
Luísa Vieira Peixe, PharmD, PhD, is Professor of Bacteriology at University of Porto, Portugal. She leads a research team that have been actively contributing to the understanding of the ecology, evolution and dynamics of antimicrobial resistance through different niches. Member of several Portuguese and international scientific committees (e.g. Biohazard Panel of the European Food Safety Authority) and associations and regularly acting as a referee of different journals and evaluator of national and international research funded programs in the field of microbiology and antimicrobial resistance.
Constance Schultsz
Constance Schultsz is a medical microbiologist at the Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, which she joined in 2008. Since 2016, she has been a Professor of Global Health and Deputy Head of the Department of Global Health, and Executive Board Member of the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD). From 2003 to 2008, she headed the Microbiology Department at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her research interests include antimicrobial drug resistance and emerging infectious diseases, which she studies in an international context using interdisciplinary approaches, ranging from molecular biology studies to implementation research. She carries out her research in collaboration with epidemiologists, clinicians, biologists, social scientists such as anthropologists and economists, and computational scientists.
Kornelia Smalla
Kornelia Smalla is the deputy head of the Institute of Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, one of 17 specialized institutes under the roof of the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), the German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants. Her working group in Braunschweig focuses on molecular microbial ecology. Smalla has a PhD in biochemistry and habilitated in microbiology. She teaches as an adjunct Professor for Microbiology at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Her long-term research interest is the ecology of antibiotic resistance and plasmids and the adaptation of soil or plant microbial communities to changing environmental conditions through horizontally acquired mobile genetic elements. Her team developed sensitive and specific methods to monitor antibiotic resistance genes and plasmids in agroecosystems. Another focus lies on the assessment of effects, which organic fertilizers and irrigation water quality have on the soil and plant microbiome, particularly on the resistome and mobilome of the latter. Kornelia Smalla is a member of the German Research Foundation assessment panel FK207 and of the Scientific Committee of the Conference Series on the “Environmental dimension of antibiotic resistance”. In the last decades, she was involved in several national and international projects on antibiotic resistance in the environment funded by the EU or national grants. Currently she participates in the German-Mexican research unit FOR 5095 funded by the renowned DFG German Research Foundation. FOR 5095 on Pollutant – Antibiotic Resistance – Pathogen Interactions in a Changing Wastewater Irrigation Systems kicked off in autumn 2021.
Jordi Vila
Jordi Vila is the Head of the Department of Clinical Microbiology of the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, Full Professor of the School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, and Research Professor in the Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) of Barcelona, Spain. His main field of interest is the development of new drugs against MDR bacteria and molecular tools for rapid diagnosis of infectious disease. Jordi Vila was the Programme Director of the Congress of ESCMID from 2009 to 2014. He has published 415 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has patented two molecules.
