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The National PhD Training Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance: Where are our students now?

Last updated

14/01/25

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Through our unique PhD programme, we have trained 27 future research leaders to tackle the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance. We spoke to Laura Ciaccio, one of these future leaders, about her experience of the programme.

What is AMR?

Antibiotics and other antimicrobials are vital to preventing and treating disease and infections, as well as making surgeries and cancer treatments safer. However, microbes can gradually adapt and stop responding to medicines. This makes infections increasingly difficult – or even impossible – to treat.

In recent decades, misuse and overuse of antimicrobials has led to many of these drugs becoming ineffective. We are additionally seeing the impacts of an ever-increasing ‘superbug’ phenomenon, where microorganisms develop resistance to multiple drugs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared AMR to be one of the top ten public threats facing humanity. Without an adequate and urgent response, many common infections will become untreatable, and routine medical procedures will become life-threatening. It is a complex problem that needs a multifaceted approach, and more investment is urgently needed.

[Scroll down to read the full interview with Laura]

10 million

people each year could die as a result of antimicrobial resistance.

The AMR PhD Programme has provided me with the foundation and network base to help me achieve my career goals.
Laura Ciaccio
University of Dundee
Staff Photo

What did you find most rewarding about your PhD research project?

My PhD project, ‘Effects of COVID-19 on antibiotic prescribing, healthcare utilisation, and E. coli resistance’, examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare, and in turn, the effects on antibiotic resistance in E. coli urine and blood culture isolates. For this work, I utilised routine healthcare data across two Scottish health boards, NHS Tayside and NHS Fife.

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring my datasets, developing my analytical skills, and leading my own research. I also found it very rewarding to propose additional research plans, to examine community antibiotic prescribing in patients with confirmed COVID-19.


How has the programme supported you with achieving your goals?

Through the design of the PhD programme, there were many opportunities for networking with researchers and students from across the UK at various career stages. These connections were helpful during my PhD and, I believe, will be beneficial throughout my working life.

During the programme, I learned about my colleagues’ research on subjects outside my field through annual conferences and biannual cohort meetings. Without these opportunities, I may have not otherwise known about their research at all. It was very valuable and interesting to see how everyone’s work developed over the four years.


What were the positives from having two supervisors from different research disciplines?

I found the programme's interdisciplinary approach to be a great way to learn about work in other fields. As someone mainly working in the health policy and clinical research space, it was great to learn more about ongoing microbiology and genomics research that also directly impacts my work. It was also useful practice to introduce my work to researchers in various fields, allowing me to examine my own studies from a new perspective.

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Amr Conference Group Shot Our 2018 and 2019 AMR PhD students.

How did you find the additional training and network-building opportunities?

I had the opportunity to undertake a three-month placement at the UK Health Security Agency with the HCAI, Fungal, AMR, AMU & Sepsis Division. This was a great opportunity to meet and work with leaders in my field and work directly with the government. This placement led to a publication in the BMJ Open Access Journal, and a poster presentation at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infection in 2023.

I also attended all annual conferences and training weeks, and cohort-building meetings from 2021 to 2023. These were some of the best parts of the programme, allowing us to meet researchers across institutions and subject areas. I have several friends and colleagues from these meetings whom I am still in touch with, who were really supportive through the viva and job application process.

I Stock 2177606403 Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria culture growth on a petri dish.

What are your future plans? How has the programme supported your future development opportunities?

I have just started a post-doctoral fellowship position at the University of Dundee. Here, I am working on a project funded by the Chief Scientist Office Scotland, using healthcare data to examine the links between antidepressants and antibiotic resistance in E.coli bloodstream infections and urinary tract infections.

I plan to continue working in research in the long term, either in academia or for the government. The AMR programme has provided me with the foundation and network base to help me achieve my career goals.


Read more about our AMR PhD programme here >>