Project description
Young researchers take antibiotic resistance personally
Historically, drugs for infection and disease have been developed from tests in large populations of similar patients. Scientific advances, particularly in the field of genetics, have ushered in a new era of personalised medicine in which genes, proteins and even parts of proteins can be used to create targeted therapeutics. Personalised antibiotic therapy is an area where such methods can be used to increase the efficacy of antibiotic therapy while combating the dangerous rise of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. TIPAT is training young researchers in the techniques required to strategically evaluate drug-pathogen-host interactions for effective personalised antibiotic therapy. A fresh look at what is becoming a common problem may be just what the doctor ordered.
Objective
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasing threat to effectively treat serious bacterial infections. To this end, tailoring antibiotic treatments to individual patients is urgently needed to maximize efficacy while minimizing the risk of promoting further resistance. To enable development of innovative personalized antibiotic treatment strategies, quantitative understanding of the interplay between drug, pathogen and host is crucial. The Training towards Innovative Personalized Antibiotic Therapy (TIPAT) network will train inter-disciplinary specialists optimally equipped with a skill set to address this challenge.
TIPAT offers a cutting-edge training-by-research programme for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) who will investigate translation and integration of biological and pharmacological data related to drug-pathogen-host interactions towards personalized therapies. Central to the TIPAT research and training program is the combination of state-of-the art quantitative modelling with approaches in clinical pharmacology, immunology and microbiology, which enables development of innovative methodology to personalized antibiotic therapies.
The consortium unites a cross-disciplinary team of leading academic experts and inter-sectoral partners including SMEs, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. Secondments complementary to ESR research projects will promote inter-professional and cross-disciplinary research and communication. The TIPAT integrated program is enriched with transferable, regulatory and entrepreneurial skills training delivered through themed Summer and Winter schools.
The TIPAT network will deliver inter-disciplinary specialists in personalized antibiotic treatment strategies. The TIPAT training will strongly expand career perspectives of ESRs in academia, hospitals, industry or regulatory agencies, and develop scientific innovations to enable optimal therapy for individual patients to address current and future challenges of AMR-infections.
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Coordinator
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands