Friday, 20 January 2023
A researcher at the University of Nottingham has been awarded £1.6 million to look at how artificial intelligence (AI) could help us to tackle antibiotic resistance – one of the biggest health challenges of our time.
For the project funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), Dr. Tania Dottorini, associate professor in bioinformatics at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham will co-lead a collaborative project team, including researchers from Queen’s University Belfast, North South University Bangladesh and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Bangladesh.
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest public health challenges of our time and, in 2019, 1.27 million deaths were attributed to antibiotic resistant bacteria.
We’re at a point in time when many of the antimicrobials that are currently used to treat infections are becoming resistant and therefore, ineffective.
Klebsiella pneumoniae exemplifies the threat of multidrug-resistant infections sweeping the world. Klebsiella is a member of the so-called ESKAPE group of microorganisms to emphasize that they effectively "escape" the effects of antibiotics.
“We’re at a point in time when many of the antimicrobials that are currently used to treat infections are becoming resistant and therefore, ineffective,” Dr. Dottorini says. “To date, a large proportion of research to develop new antimicrobials still focuses only on a small fraction of targets for which most lead drug compounds have shown relatively short-term effectiveness.
“A better understanding of the complex genetic repertoire, molecular interaction networks, and pathways underlying resistance is key to broadening the possibility of discovering novel therapeutic targets. In this project, we will develop an AI approach to discover potentially druggable K. pneumoniae proteins and to identify lead drugs inhibiting the target by a deep learning approach fed with 3D modelling.”
Professor Jose Bengoechea, Director of the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast and co-lead for the project, added: “This funding will allow us to revolutionize the way that new drugs are developed to tackle the global pandemic of antimicrobial resistant infections, and to identify new drugs against Klebsiella pneumoniae - one of the microbes singled out by the World Health Organisation as a global threat to human health.
“This is an exciting collaboration harnessing the world-class expertise in AI and machine learning at the University of Nottingham University and Queen’s University Belfast on how these microbes counteract our body’s defences”.
Professor (Dr.) Tahmina Shirin, Director of IEDCR, said: “AMR is a major public health concern in LMICs including Bangladesh. IEDCR is conducting nationwide surveillance program on AMR in Bangladesh since 2016 and very keen to go ahead with advanced research initiatives to address this issue.”
The research project will start this year and run for three years. It is expected that the results will be available in 2026 and will be made available to the public.
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For further information, please email Dr Tania Dottorini, Associate Professor in Bioinformatics at Tania.Dottorini@nottingham.ac.uk
Adam Mallaby - Media Relations Manager for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (Maternity Cover)
Email: adam.mallaby@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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