Project description
Untangling resistance evolution in antibiotic combination schemes
Antibiotic resistance is a growing global public health threat. Treatment schemes combining multiple antibiotics and antibiotic free periods, sequentially, may minimise resistance evolution but this hypothesis has not been rigorously tested. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the EvoComb project aims to fill this knowledge gap, combining theoretical models, clinical data and evolution experiments. Integrating population genetic models with clinical data will support the design and interpretation of controlled evolution experiments. Outcomes will be compared to evolutionary stochasticity – unpredictable random events steering evolutionary trajectories. EvoComb will also determine the drug responses of bacterial populations at different stages of evolution. Better understanding of resistance dynamics could point to mitigating interventions.
Objective
The looming crisis of antibiotic resistance makes it imperative to better understand how treatments influence the dynamics of resistance evolution. Clinical treatments often combine multiple antibiotics aiming to increase treatment efficacy and minimise resistance evolution. In addition, chronic infections typically require long-term treatments that combine multiple antibiotics and antibiotic-free periods sequentially. Although treatment selection pressure is a fundamental determinant of resistance evolution, quantitative, systematic studies investigating the impact of treatment schemes on evolutionary dynamics in clinical treatments are lacking.
EvoComb proposes a multidisciplinary, hybrid approach that combines theoretical models, evolution experiments, and clinical data from patient treatments to elucidate the effects of treatment schemes that combine antibiotics on the evolution of antibiotic resistance. I will develop population genetic models and integrate them with clinical data to design, perform and interpret controlled evolution experiments with clinically relevant bacterial populations. This kind of approach has proven to be an effective tool for predicting and disentangling the effects of the different factors driving resistance evolution. I will also phenotypically characterise bacterial populations at different stages of evolution both in the lab and in the clinic, by quantitatively determining their drug responses. Using a dedicated robotic platform, I will address the reproducibility of results within evolutionary stochasticity via high-throughput experiments. Taken together, the outcomes of this project will substantially advance our understanding of the dynamics of resistance evolution during real-world treatments, with broad biomedical applications.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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50931 Koln
Germany
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