Opening of the new Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance in Western Norway
Hovedinnhold
On the 30th of May, the CAMRIA (Combatting Anti-Microbial Resistance with Interdisciplinary Approaches) centre had its opening. CAMRIA has received funding from the Trond Mohn Foundation (TMS), and is a collaboration between University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital and Stavanger University Hospital.
The opening ceremony took place in Eitri Medical Incubator and was well-attended by participants, including prominent speakers – Norway’s Minister of Health and Care Services - Ingvild Kjerkol, leader of CAMRIA – Professor Nina Langeland, Chair of the Board of Directors, Trond Mohn Foundation - Stener Kvinnsland, UiB Rector - Margareth Hagen, , Helse Bergen CEO – Eivind Hansen and Helse Stavanger Research Director – Svein Skeie.
‘In the long run, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) might become an even bigger health problem than COVID-19, both globally and in Norway’, points out Nina Langeland. Compared to the current 700 000 deaths caused by AMR, this number is predicted to increase to 10 millions by 2050. Therefore concrete steps needs to be undertaken to reverse this trend. ‘Even in Norway, the resistance problems increase gradually, whereas new antibiotics are hardly developed. That is why we must limit unnecessary antibiotic use, and reserve new antibiotics for those who really need them. Further, we need to learn more about how resistance to one medicine affects the development of resistance to others.’
In order to address challenges in the AMR research, the new centre will utilise inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches. That is why CAMRIA brings together partners with expertise not only in clinical infectious diseases, but also mathematics, microbiological diagnostics, bioinformatics, infection prevention and control, and social sciences. The centre, through the Trond Mohn Foundation, will finance three different research projects that are expected to contribute to the achievement of CAMRIA’s goals:
- Surveillance and Metagenomic tracking of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes IN environmental and clinical samples using machine learning approaches (MARGIN) – led by Doctor Randi Jacobsen Bertelsen, UiB
- Learning and predicting the pathways of AMR evolution with hypercubic inference (HyperEvol) – led by Professor Iain Johnston, UiB
- Risk communication and perception of AMR in the public and among healthcare workers: Knowledge needed to develop new policies and interventions (Media and AMR) – led by Professor Ingrid Smith, Helse Bergen.
The three projects were presented during the opening ceremony, explaining their scientific aspects and relevance for the AMR-research.
