ENLIGHT-funded Conference on Antibiotic Resistance co-organized by the Uppsala Antibiotic Center
The Uppsala Antibiotic Center (UAC) co-organized a conference on “Strengthening Antibiotic Resistance Networks” that took place in Bordeaux on the 27th and 28th of November 2023. The conference was a collaboration between antibiotic resistance research centers at Uppsala University, the University of the Basque Country, and the University of Bordeaux and partially funded within the framework of ENLIGHT. The UAC was also part in applying for the seed-funding from ENLIGHT to arrange the conference.
“It was great to work together with our contacts in Basque Country and Bordeaux since early 2023 to strengthen our European network. Getting funding for this first event has been incredibly important and rewarding” says Eva Garmendia, coordinator at UAC.
The event aimed to stimulate collaboration on research, education, and outreach between no less than 18 participating research groups across the three universities, all focusing on different aspects of the global challenge of antibiotic resistance. Uppsala University was well represented by a delegation including PhD students from the UAC representing all three scientific domains.
(Image removed) From left to right: UAC PhD student Filip Ilievski, UAC PhD student Ottilia Andersson, UAC Group Leader Olof Lindahl, UAC PhD student Luong Nguyen, UAC Coordinator Eva Garmendia & UAC PhD student Valeriia Ladyhina.
“This is clearly an area with great potential for dialogue across research groups in the ENLIGHT university alliance. There was considerable interest in the cross-disciplinary education and research on antibiotic resistance that we do at the UAC. We think this bodes well for further developing the collaboration on this topic within the ENLIGHT alliance.”, comments Olof Lindahl, group leader at the UAC.
Following two days of research presentations, discussions, and networking, the three universities have united around the common goal of creating a long-term collaboration in research, teaching, and outreach. Already during this conference, work has begun to organize a cross-disciplinary summer course on antibiotic resistance to take place at the University of the Basque Country in summer 2024, where faculty from the UAC will teach.
(Image removed) Our PhD students next to their presented posters.
“After this conference, it is clearer than ever that antibiotic resistance is a challenge to global health that demands input from across both the academic spectrum and country borders. Thanks to ENLIGHT we now have a unique opportunity to build on this momentum and create a strong cross-disciplinary network of research groups across Europe.” says Olof Lindahl.
The conference was a success that has contributed with many ideas and considerable enthusiasm for further collaboration within the ENLIGHT framework on tackling the global health challenge of antibiotic resistance. As an exciting and important next step, the participating centers now aim to consolidate their collaboration by exploring the possibilities of becoming an ENLIGHT Thematic Network.
(Image removed) Group photo with all participants from Uppsala University, University of Basque Country and The University of Bordeaux.
This conference was made possible thanks to ENLIGHT seed funding granted to the network from the University of Bordeaux, previously available funds via the LTC-Sarea collaboration between the Joint Research Laboratory on Environmental Antibiotic Resistance (JRL-EAR) at the University of Basque Country and the University of Bordeaux, and available funding from UAC.
Want to know more?
- UAC’s website: www.uac.uu.se
- JRL-EAR’s website: www.jrl-environmental-antibiotic-resistance.eus
- LTC-Sarea’s website: www.ltcsarea.eu/en