A major step forward for antibiotic resistance research at Uppsala
Dan Andersson, SRA project leader
The Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) has recommended Uppsala University's application "Combating the antibiotic resistance pandemic with personalised medicine" for funding under Sweden's new Strategic Research Areas (SRA) initiative. The recommendation was published on 31 March 2026, pending a final decision by the Swedish Government.
Selected from nine submissions in the area of Health, life sciences, and artificial intelligence, the application was one of three recommended for funding. Uppsala University was also recommended in three additional SRA areas (Climate-related research, Crisis preparedness, and Research on advanced materials), a strong outcome for the university overall.
What the funding would support
If confirmed, the SRA would receive SEK 11,030,000 in 2027 and SEK 21,843,000 in 2028, with funding expected to continue for several years. The activities are structured across four interconnected focus areas:
- Resistance biology: mechanisms of resistance evolution, heteroresistance, and minimum selective concentrations
- Infection diagnostics: rapid diagnostics, single-cell microfluidics, AI-assisted susceptibility testing, and spatial -omics
- New antibiotics and therapies: AI-driven drug discovery, virtual screenings, metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors, and bacterial vector therapies
- Optimized antibiotic use: pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, combination therapies, microbiome impact, and AI-supported clinical decision-making
The SRA brings together 22 principal investigators collectively holding 11 ERC grants. The approach spans research from atomic-level structural biology to clinical trials.
UAC as a cornerstone
Uppsala Antibiotic Center is explicitly named in the application as a key organization providing research infrastructure, tools, know-how, and educational activities. UAC's research school, with now nine years of experience training PhD students in multidisciplinary AMR research, would anchor the SRA's competence supply. The Nordic AMR Alliance (NAMRA), spearheaded by UAC in 2022, is also named as a key collaborative asset.
This is a recognition of what previous independent evaluations have already confirmed: the UAC is a unique resource in both a Swedish and international context, both for its research and for its role in connecting universities, public authorities, and industry across Sweden and beyond.
A decade of strategic investment
The SRA builds on Uppsala University's sustained commitment to antibiotic resistance research. From 2017 to 2024, UU supported UAC with 76 MSEK, with a further 8 MSEK allocated for 2025–2028. The university has co-funded ReAct (20 MSEK), hosted the externally funded platforms of ENABLE and current ENABLE-2 (28 MSEK), and PLATINEA (4.5 MSEK). UU is also currently planning a new biosafety level 3 laboratory at an estimated cost of 20 MSEK.
About the Project Leader
Professor Dan Andersson led UAC for a decade since its founding in 2015. He is a member of the European and American Academies of Microbiology and the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, and has been listed as a Highly Cited Researcher in microbiology for six consecutive years (2020–2025). His research focuses on bacterial evolution and genetics, with a particular emphasis on resistance mechanisms, heteroresistance, and diagnostics.
”This is wonderful news and it shows the strength of this area at Uppsala University. The new funding will allow us to further deepen and develop research and education on antibiotic resistance with a long-term perspective” - Prof. Dan Andersson