Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance

Imperial College London hosts several national centres of excellence in infection research, many of which involve partnerships with national and international funders and institutions.

Pulling together expertise from across all Faculties at Imperial and clinical expertise in the NHS partner organisations, the AHSC’s activities span understanding pathogen biology and the host response, vaccines and other disease prevention strategies, new tools for diagnosis and better disease treatments.

Externally funded research centres include:

There are also Imperial Networks of Excellence in Malaria and Vaccine Research.

Alongside the direct consequences of infection, the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) also has huge implications for human health.

Super bugs or microorganisms that become resistant to traditional antibiotic medicines could result in currently treatable infections becoming fatal and it is estimated that AMR could result in up to ten million additional deaths worldwide by 2050.

To respond to this global challenge, Imperial has established the Antimicrobial Research Collaborative (ARC@Imperial) and hosts the Imperial NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance.