Dec 16 Applications

Early Career Fellowship

Jessica Pardoe ( CV, Application)
Applicant: Jessica Pardoe (pharmacology background)
Supervisors: Freya Harrison, Meera Unnikrishnan, David Barret (Nottingham)
Departments: SLS/Medicine/Pharmacy (Nottingham)
Title: "Cytotoxicity & immunomodulatory activity of an “ancientbiotic” and its active chemical fractions"
Dates: March 13th – June 30th, 2017
Request: £2004 consumables and 4 months worth of stipend
Summary:
Aims- To fully investigate the effects of a 10th-century remedy for eye infections and its active fractions on human epithelial cells and monocytes. These experiments will confirm which chemical fractions should be further analysed to identify active compound(s)
Link to AMR- Ancientbiotic investigations will provide an innovative discovery pipeline for identifying compounds to help fight untreatable, expensive and often lethal chronic infections

NIHR CRN Sandpit

Applicants: Chrystala Constantinidou, Chris Dowson, Miruna David (UHB NHS Trust), Abid Hussain (PHE HoE NHS Trust), Owen Lancaster (PHE HoE NHS Trust), Li Xu (HoE NHS Trust), Steven Wilson (HoE NHS Trust) ( Application)
Departments: Life Sciences, Medicine, Public Health England, UHB NHS Trust, HoE NHS Trust
Title: "Antifungal resistance and epidemiology of Candida glabrata isolates in critically ill patients using novel genomic sequencing technology"
Duration: 1st March – 1st September 2017
Request: £22816K
Summary:
Aims- We seek to obtain a broad picture of the genetic diversity of C. glabrata isolates and of key mutations/SNPs associated with resistance to antifungal drugs.
Link to AMR- (Note: Approval obtained from EPSRC to study fungal rather than bacterial AMR) :
Although antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are a widely-recognized public health threat, less is known about the effects of antifungal resistance and the burden of drug-resistant fungal infections. This highlights the need for an improved understanding of the reasons for their emergence, heightened awareness among medical and public health communities about these infections, and greater attention to methods that can be used to prevent and control them.

Applicants: Matt Keeling, Ed Moran (HEFT), Esther Robinson (HEFT) ( Application)
Departments: Mathematics/Life Sciences, Heart of England NHS Trust
Title: "Towards personalised empirical antibiotic guidance – a pilot study"
Start: Jan/Feb 2017
Request: £19028
Summary:
Aims- This project aims to demonstrates that it is possible to integrate and analyse retrospective data to identify factors associated with resistant infection and poor outcome; secondly by using this information to develop algorithms to guide a personalised antibiotic recommendation based upon a specific patient’s risk factors.
Link to AMR:
We believe there is tremendous potential to improve empirical antibiotic use, and hence reduce selection pressure and antimicrobial resistance, through decision support systems. In addition we wish to explore how machine-learning programmes might facilitate the continual development of such support systems in the future.