The AMR Hub: a public–private partnership to overcome barriers to commercialisation and deliver antimicrobial stewardship innovations

Dr Michelle Bonello (BSc(Hons), MPH, PhD) is Business Manager of the Industrial Transformation Research Hub to Combat AMR. She has a background is molecular biology and public health research.

Assoc. Prof. Tanya Applegate is Lead of the Diagnostics Innovations Group in the Surveillance Evaluation and Research Program at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney. Tanya leads a multistakeholder, multidisciplinary diagnostics research program spanning all stages of the pipeline with over 20 years working in regulatory, hospital, private industry and academic environments. Her translational research aims to provide equitable access to healthcare for people who are marginalised or living in remote or resource limited settings.

Dr Steven Badman is Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs, Cepheid, for the Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and western Pacific region. Steve is a clinically trained public health researcher with 20+ years of international infectious disease research and public health implementation in several countries, including remote Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Myanmar.

Catriona S. Bradshaw is a professor at Monash University, Melbourne. Catriona heads a translational research programme to improve the diagnosis, treatment and control of drug-resistant and refractory sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with a focus on improving antimicrobial stewardship and AMR in STIs. Her programme includes interventions to achieve a vaginal microbiota associated with optimal reproductive health outcomes.

Alex Broom is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney.

Paul Field is the representative for the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) in Australia. GARDP is developing and delivering new treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections including zoliflodacin a first-in-class antibiotic against Neisseria gonorrohoeae.

Prof. Jane Hocking is an epidemiologist and implementation researcher whose research interests include the epidemiology and control of STIs, sexual health and the implementation and evaluation of primary care interventions. She is a Dame Kate Campbell Fellow, holds a NHMRC Investigator Grant (L2) and is the head of the Sexual Health Unit at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.

Prof. Wilhelmina Huston is a molecular microbiologist in the field of STIs based at the University of Technology—Sydney. Her research is focussed on chlamydial pathogenesis, but also host responses and interplay with microbiome factors in the context of both infection and disease pathologies. She is also a committed educator with research and academic development outcomes in higher education teaching and learning in Science.

Dr Fabian Kong is a senior fellow and Deputy Head of the Sexual Health Unit at The University of Melbourne. Fabian comes from a clinical pharmacy background with expertise in evidence medicine and international health and has worked for the WHO, UNDP and The World Bank. He currently works as an epidemiologist to optimise treatments for STIs using pharmacokinetics and novel culture models, with a focus on multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea in the mouth.

Gerald Murray is a senior research officer in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at The University of Melbourne, based at the Royal Women’s Hospital. His research interests include investigating mechanisms of AMR, studying the human microbiota in health and disease, and human papillomavirus (HPV).

Dr Elisa Mokany is a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer at SpeeDx. Elisa is a strong advocate of SpeeDx’s goal of pioneering solutions to address the global problem of antibiotic resistance with the company’s lead first commercial test world-wide for detection of a STI that detects both the infectious agent together with markers of antibiotic resistance.

Shivani Pasricha is a microbiologist and laboratory head in the Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne. Using molecular and genomic approaches, her research aims to improve the detection, prevention and surveillance of STIs. Her current research includes developing cutting-edge CRISPR-diagnostics for the point-of-care detection of STIs and AMR.

Adj. Prof. Alison Todd is the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of SpeeDx. She is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and awarded Member (AM) in the general division of the Order of Australia. Her commitment to deliver innovative clinical diagnostics to improve patient outcomes has contributed to the development of over 30 products, utilising her patented inventions from a portfolio of over 20 patent families.

Assoc. Prof. David Whiley is a principal research fellow at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR) and a research scientist at Pathology Queensland. Antibiotic-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a particular research interest of his, including enhancing gonorrhoea AMR surveillance and treatment.

Virginia Wiseman is Professor of Health Economics (BEc(Hons), PhD) and Theme Director of Health Economics & Health Systems Research at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, with a dual appointment in the Department of Global Health and Development at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She has 24 years’ experience in translational research, evaluating the economic and health impacts of public health interventions in Australia, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Virginia leads the Australian Centre for Stronger Investments in Infectious Diseases (STRIDE).

Prof. Rebecca Guy (BAppSc, MAppEpid, PhD) is a public health epidemiologist and Head of the Surveillance and Evaluation Research Program at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney. Her research focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of infectious diseases, including HIV, STIs and respiratory tract infections. She has led national surveillance, cohort and data linkage studies, and cluster randomised trials of large-scale public initiatives, particularly among marginalised populations. This research has translated into policy and practice, including national strategies, national guidelines and WHO guidelines.