Millennium Nucleus for Collaborative Research On Bacterial Resistance – Microb-R

Impact Area: Health
Speciality: Antimicrobial Resistance

The discovery and commercialization of antimicrobials changed the course of our history and dramatically transformed modern medicine. Indeed, a myriad of routine medical procedures such as surgeries, organ transplant and cancer treatment were only made possible by our ability to fight and prevent infections through the massive production of these miraculous drugs. Likewise, antimicrobials transformed agriculture and livestock husbandry, allowing for intensive production models that rendered animal protein widely accessible for an ever-growing world population.

However, widespread dissemination of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) is now threatening to jeopardize these achievements to such an extent that the World Health Organization designated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as one of the three most important public health threats of the 21st century.

Our mission in MICROB-R is to advance our understanding of AMR and help preserve the miracle of antibiotics.

AMR is a multi-factorial problem that crosses several disciplines and needs multi-disciplinary solutions. In MICROB-R, we will take advantage of our diverse group of researchers with different backgrounds and technical skills to advance our knowledge of AMR and address critical gaps of knowledge. Specifically, in the first stages of our work, MICROB-R is focusing on determining the molecular epidemiology and clinical outcomes of critical MDROs in Chilean hospitals and on establishing the role of the community and the environment in the human acquisition of resistant bacteria. In addition, we will work along different agencies and organizations to provide nationwide information regarding key data such as burden of infections with MDROs to the health system, annual antimicrobial consumption in medicine and in the productive sector, attitudes and knowledge about antimicrobials from different groups of our society and the status of antimicrobial stewardship efforts across medical centers of our country.

In the long-term, we aspire to become a catalyst of collaborations across disciplines, between academia and the private sector, as well as to establishing a strong patient-oriented program to test unmet clinical needs through a multicenter network of hospitals. Finally, MICROB-R expects to help shape public policy in Chile and beyond, influencing areas such as surveillance strategies in hospitals and food production, regulatory policies regarding the use of antimicrobials in agriculture and livestock, clinical guidelines, etc.

José M. Munita
José M. MunitaDirector
Andrea Moreno
Andrea MorenoActing Director

Contacto e-mail: contacto@microb-r.org
Communication e-mail: sergio@microb-r.org
Phone: +569 7667 1200
www.microb-r.org