One Health Approaches to Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research at Bristol Veterinary School is coordinated through our research group, AMR Force, initiated and led by Professor Kristen Reyher. We work to help tackle the global issue of antimicrobial resistance through a plurality of approaches; locally, nationally and internationally.
This successful research group has secured tens of millions of pounds worth of funding from public funders (DEFRA, University of Bristol), Research Councils UK (BBSRC, ESRC, EPSRC, MRC, NERC), industry bodies (AHDB Dairy, AHDB Beef and Sheep, MSD Animal Health, Zoetis UK, WD Farmers, Coombe Farm), Charity funders (Soil Association, Dogs Trust, The Langford Trust) and international bodies (EU Horizon 2020, Formas Sweden)
Some of the major questions addressed by our research include:
- Can we impact the way veterinarians prescribe medicines? (David Barrett, Lauren Blake, Irene Bueno, Kristen Reyher, Veronica Roberts)
- Can we understand the way antimicrobials are used for animals, and promote stewardship of these important medicines? (David Barrett, Lauren Blake, Irene Bueno, Maria Paula Escobar-Tello, Kristen Reyher, Alex Tasker)
- Can we assist in developing medicines use policy with policy-makers, veterinarians and farmers (using participatory or other approaches)? (David Barrett, Lauren Blake, Irene Bueno, Maria Paula Escobar-Tello, Kristen Reyher, Alex Tasker)
- Does reducing antimicrobial use impact patterns of resistance? (Matthew Avison, David Barrett, Irene Bueno, Tristan Cogan, Kristen Reyher)
- How do microbes and AMR genes cycle in the environment? ( Matthew Avison, David Barrett, Kristen Reyher)
- Can the development of AMR data platforms help our understanding of AMR and antimicrobial use? (Sion Bayliss, Andy Dowsey, Kristen Reyher)
- What advances in diagnostic technologies would be most useful in reducing antimicrobial use in agriculture? (Kristen Reyher)
- Conflict zones (Alex Tasker)
We combine our veterinary, epidemiology, microbiology and social science expertise with others working in the field of AMR through close collaborations, including other social scientists, animal welfare scientists, human medics, pharmacists, policy-makers, key stakeholders and government. We have a strong history of providing leadership, advice and policy influence in the field of AMR and work closely with the Faculty Grand Challenge Cluster in Infectious Diseases and AMR to coordinate efforts across the wider University.