Author: Anna Sundin

AMR Dx Global Survey

Anna SundinNews and press, VRI

The JPIAMR-VRI network AMR DX Global has published a survey about the current state of training, teaching and awareness in AMR diagnostics. The main aim of this survey is to get a better understanding of the current and future needs, availability and gaps of AMR diagnostics training to a wide variety of stakeholders such as patients, healthcare workers, farmers, legislators, and innovators. As AMR concerns us all, the network accepts input from any type of stakeholder. This survey will help shape the input into the future VRI offerings.

The survey is open until 29 February 2020 and is completely anonymous. AMR Dx Global does not track your visit to the survey website. Join the survey AMR Diagnostics-Teaching and Training

AMR Diagnostics Teaching & Training Resource
The AMR DX Global mapping of teaching and training resources globally includes online (such as MOOCs, webinars, etc.) and offline resources such as (classes, workshops, conferences, etc.). The resulting database will feed into the future activities of the JPIAMR VRI.

If you like to join the family and promote an AMR diagnostics teaching & training resource you are involved with, you can use the following form: AMR Diagnostics Teaching & Training Resource – Self Registration

Hacking AMR 2019

Anna SundinNews and press, VRI

JPIAMR is organising an international hackathon in Stockholm 13-15 December 2019: Hacking AMR 2019 – Using the digital world to fight antimicrobial resistance

The hackathon aims to bring together scientists, designers, patients, developers, innovators, students and entrepreneurs to collaborate, dream up & create solutions to real-world problems to improve human, animal and environmental health and well-being with regards to Antimicrobial Resistance.

We have decided to allow for up to 10 extra spots in the participants group of Hacking AMR 2019! If you have heard of anyone that had previously missed the cut off date and really wanted to join this exciting, high energy, creative and fun JPIAMR-VRI activity, they have another chance to register until 10 December at midnight.

To read more about the event, please click here.

This Hackathon is a Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance – Virtual Research Institute (JPIAMR-VRI) activity supported and co-organised with the following groups: Swedish Research Council; Institute of Infection and Immunity (III) of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); Research Council of Norway; Uppsala Antibiotic Center (UAC); Hacking Health Foundation

#HackingAMR2019

Regional JPIAMR Workshop in Asia

Anna SundinNews and press

We are launching a regional JPIAMR Workshop in Asia: Fostering knowledge on Clinical Epidemiology, AMR policy, Therapeutics and Diagnostics to combat AMR in Asia. This workshop will bring together experts and researchers from Asia to provide insights on Antimicrobial Resistance in Asia. The workshop will be held at Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea, December 4-5, 2019.

The workshop is organised by Korea and supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and by JPIAMR.

Read more and register.

Results of the JPIAMR Call on Diagnostics & Surveillance 2019

Anna SundinNews and press

Twelve projects involving 55 partners from 25 different countries have been awarded funding within the JPIAMR 9th transnational call: “Call on Diagnostics and Surveillance 2019”. The total funding amount is 12,1 M€.

For a list and description of all awarded projects, please visit the following page: Projects awarded funding within the 9th JPIAMR Joint Call

Today and during the World Antibiotic Awareness Week (18 – 24 November 2019) JPIAMR will publish videos where some of the awarded projects are presented by the project coordinators. Please visit the JPIAMR YouTube channelfor updates.

The call was launched in December 2018 and supported by 20 research-funding organisations from JPIAMR member countries. The primary aim of the call was to support innovative research projects on new or improved diagnostic and surveillance strategies, tools, technologies and methods. The call also aimed to support research projects that have the potential for impact in areas where the risk and burden of AMR is greatest, such as in LMIC settings in Asia and Africa.

JPIAMR Supported Research Spotlights

Anna SundinNews and press

JPIAMR has today published research output and impact from three of the seven projects funded in the first JPIAMR Joint Call 2014, Innovative approaches to address antibacterial resistance. This call was promoted by 14 funding agencies in 12 countries, and had a total budget of 13,8 M€. The projects have resulted in a pending patent for a TB compound, a new approach to interrupting bacteria communications, and innovations to make existing antibiotics remain effective.

Jan-Ingvar Jönsson, Acting Chair JPIAMR Management Board, says:

– Results generated from this call shows how JPIAMR funding can make a difference, and lead to ground-breaking research and innovations.

Read more on each project in the folder and research spotlights below:

JPIAMR Roadmap of Actions 2019-2024

Anna SundinNews and press

In May 2019, JPIAMR published the JPIAMR Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), which emphasises the One Health approach to address AMR and outlines six key priority topics within the AMR field: Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Surveillance, Transmission, Environment and Interventions.

The SRIA provides a framework for the JPIAMR Roadmap of Actions 2019-2024 that will guide future joint transnational actions of the JPIAMR as well as to serve as an information resource for other strategic initiatives to support coordination and synergistic actions. The Roadmap defines future JPIAMR research calls, network calls, strategic workshops and JPIAMR-VRI activities.

Download the JPIAMR Roadmap of Actions 2019-2024 (pdf 4MB, opens in a new window)

New Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda

Anna SundinNews and press

The JPIAMR Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) that is published today presents an overview of recent developments and future needs for AMR research. The SRIA outlines six key priority topics within the AMR field: Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Surveillance Transmission, Environment and Interventions, and has defined a set of research objectives within each priority topic. Together, 27 countries has created the SRIA.

The SRIA highlights many important research needs, including:

  • The need to address AMR with a holistic One Health approach
  • The necessity of including innovation in every aspect of AMR research
  • Increased inclusion of Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs)
  • The need for developments incorporating personalised medicine and artificial intelligence.

The SRIA is a prime guiding tool for AMR research prioritisation in investments, research activities and planning for JPIAMR member states and other funding initiatives. It is also one of the most thorough guidelines on AMR research, helping researchers, policy makers, media, educators, health workers and the scientific community to work together on solutions to curb AMR on a global scale.

JPIAMR Networks start-up workshop

Anna SundinNews and press, VRI

The JPIAMR launched two network calls in 2018, (1) Surveillance, and (2) Building the Foundation of the JPIAMR-Virtual Research Institute. Within the surveillance call ten networks were funded. Within the JPIAMR-VRI call, eight networks were funded.

On February 19-20, 2019, the coordinators of the funded Networks within both calls met in the Netherlands for the start-up workshop. The Networks discussed alignment and enhanced interactions. The JPIAMR-VRI Networks also worked on future incorporation into the JPIAMR-VRI, and the surveillance networks were introduced to the JPIAMR-VRI and considered whether further interaction within the JPIAMR-VRI could promote and enhance surveillance actions.

Coordinators discussed how to synergise the Networks both within and between the two Network calls. New connections were formed and this led to future interactions such as:

  • Aligning Network activities by increased communication between coordinators
  • Inclusion of coordinators into other Networks
  • Inclusion of coordinators from other Networks to workshops and meetings of interest from the other Networks

Major Conclusions

Networks spanned all of the JPIAMR pillars and were mostly multidisciplinary.

Networks are geographically diverse, involving representatives from countries on all continents.

The gender balance of the Surveillance Networks was 70% male/30% female and for the VRI networks the balance was 75% male/25% female.

The full workshop report, including summaries of all Networks funded within both calls, can be downloaded here.

JPIAMR launches AMR Research Funding Dashboard

Anna SundinNews and press

An extensive and unique overview of public investments into antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research is available on the newly published JPIAMR Research Funding Dashboard. This dynamic tool inlcudes funding data until the year 2017 from 22 JPIAMR member countries, the European Commission and the Wellcome Trust. The dashboard enables interactive analyses for exploring data on national competitive grants by agency, country, JPIAMR research priority and individual research projects and will serve as a resource for the scientific community, funders, policy makers and others to gain insight into the scale and scope of publicly funded AMR research in member countries of JPIAMR.

The data visualised in the AMR Research Funding Dashboard was collected in the JPIAMR 2017 mapping exercise and is categorised around the JPIAMR Strategic Research Agenda’s (SRA) six priority topics – therapeutics, diagnostics, surveillance, transmission, environment, and interventions.

The mapping recorded a total investment of 1794 M€ in AMR research from a total of 1 939 projects. Of the projects reported, 76.2% of the total investment was recorded for research projects in antibiotic resistance followed by 20.6% in anti-parasitic and 3.2% in anti-fungal resistance research. Analyses on total investments in JPIAMR priority areas indicated that a majority of the grants (57.6%) were dedicated to the priority area therapeutics, followed by diagnostics (13.1%), interventions (11.3%), transmission (7.5%), surveillance (6.7%) and environment (3.8%). Read more in the report on Mapping of AMR research funding (2017).

The JPIAMR 2017 mapping shows that JPIAMR member countries are continuing to increase funding of AMR as a national priority. Although the majority of funding is still directed towards therapeutics as a solution of combatting AMR, increased investments were also observed for the other priority areas. Nevertheless, investments in research on AMR in the environment at national levels are still low. Further national commitments to support funding for detection and prevention of the spread of AMR in a truly “One Health” framework are needed.

Read more on AMR mapping here.

EU Competitive Council Conclusions Calls on Continued Support for JPIs

Anna SundinNews and press

The Competitiveness Council has adopted conclusions on the governance of the European Research Area, and emphasise the relevance of jointly addressing global challenges within the JPIs.

In the conclusions, the Commission is called upon to continue the support for the joint programming process and the JPIs:

“NOTES the 10th anniversary in 2018 of Joint Programming in ERA with ten Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs); TAKES NOTE of the recent achievements of the ERAC dedicated configuration the High Level Group on Joint Programming (GPC) in fostering the development of long-term strategies for JPIs, establishing a monitoring mechanism for national progress in this area; and the setting up of a new framework for evaluating potential new and existing JPIs; REITERATES the continued relevance of jointly addressing global challenges, especially within the JPIs, and CALLS ON the Commission to continue the support for the joint programming process and the JPIs, in line with policy objectives at national and EU level;”

Draft Council conclusions on the “Governance of the European Research Area” , 22 November 2018, page 6.

Please find the full Council conclusions here.