The Oxford students at the forefront of the fight against microbial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one the most pressing challenges facing the world today. Common infections that were once easily treated by antibiotics are becoming life-threatening again. By 2050 it is predicted that over 10 million deaths will be caused by drug-resistant infections every year. 

At the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI), created in 2021 to advance antimicrobial research, Oxford’s graduate students are among those contributing to the search for solutions to tackle this growing threat to global health.

34 DPhil students from around the world are based at the IOI, each part of a focused research project that works to develop new antibiotics or study the spread and impact of AMR around the world.

Among them is Kate Cook, a DPhil student, who is currently undertaking research in Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano, Nigeria to investigate the causes of wound infections in surgical and orthopedic wards. Through her work, she aims to understand the role of insects like flies, cockroaches and ants in spreading bacteria in tropical climates.

Working closely with two research assistants in the hospital – Maryam and Firdausi – Kate acts as a microbiological detective, identifying which kinds of bacteria are causing infections in patients, then investigating whether these bacteria are also present on hospital surfaces, and in insects caught on the wards.

“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.”

Insects – specifically flies – are also of interest to PhD student Shonnette Premchand-Branker. She is part of an IOI study investigating the role of flies in spreading antibiotic resistance in hospitals, where the use of antibiotics is high, as is the number of diagnosed multidrug-resistant infections in patients. 

A microbiologist by training, Shonnette analyses fly samples which will be collected from countries across the globe.

“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.”

Nigerian-born DPhil student, Chinenye ‘Chy’ Akpulu, works as part of the IOI study Burden of Antibiotic Resistance in Neonates from Developing Societies (BARNARDS). The study aims to reduce the prevalence of neonatal sepsis, and Chy is studying if the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in babies could be linked to their gut microbiome, the community of bacteria that live in their stomachs.

The work is potentially life-saving – antibiotic resistance to sepsis is a leading cause of deaths in newborns, with 99% of global newborn mortality occurring in low-and-middle income countries.

“I am drawn to research that directly benefits people, and the work that the BARNARDS team were doing really resonated with me - not just scientific enquiry but helping the community itself by translating research into better clinical outcomes.”

Wojtek Treyde, a PhD student who has previously studied at the University of Heidelberg in Germany is part of the INEOS Oxbridge Doctoral Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance – a fully funded DPhil programme that enables up to seven candidates to study at both the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Wojtek is a computational chemist working on drug development. His PhD project combines his research experience so far – an undergraduate degree in chemistry and master’s degree with a focus in Machine Learning.

A branch of chemistry, computational chemistry uses computer simulations to solve complex chemical challenges, such as the discovery of new antibiotics to tackle rising rates of AMR. Wojtek works closely with lab-based researchers at the IOI to use machine learning to inform research.

“I wanted to use my training in an area where I could make a difference. Alongside climate change, AMR is the biggest threat facing humanity and I want to contribute to finding new solutions.”

Find out more about the work of IOI here.