Antimicrobial Resistance Training Program in the Texas Medical Center (AMR-TPT)

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The rise of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms globally has become a critical public health priority due to the devastating consequences that it may have to the world health and economy. Antibiotic resistance (AMR) threatens the progress of medicine in all areas, and as such, the issue has reached the highest level of

government, including the Office of the US President and the United Nations. AMR is a top public health priority for both CDC and WHO and has been designated as the “silent” pandemic. Houston is the home to the largest cluster of healthcare institutions in the world, the Texas Medical Center (TMC), with more than 9,200

hospital beds and 10 million patient visits per year. The Houston area’s strong history of outstanding infectious diseases research and training includes a focus on AMR and antibiotic stewardship. The combined efforts of the recently formed Houston Methodist Center of Excellence for Infectious Diseases and the existing Gulf

Coast Consortium (GCC) for Antimicrobial Resistance have resulted in an active, multidisciplinary and comprehensive research and educational program amalgamating the endeavors of AMR researchers and creating the resources, personnel, funding and fertile ground to develop an ambitious, innovative, unparalleled

AMR training program. We propose to establish the AMR Training Program in the Texas Medical Center (AMR-TPT) that trains postdoctoral scholars, clinical residents/fellows and PharmD fellows from eight institutions in the TMC (Houston Methodist Research Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at

Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Rice University, University of Houston, and Institute of Biosciences and Technology of Texas A&M University) on advanced aspects of AMR research. We will take advantage of the strong administrative expertise of the GCC

on successful T32 programs in other areas and the educational activities already in place, combined with the expertise of world-class AMR researchers. AMR-TPT seeks to leverage and create resources to train the next generation of scientists and clinician-scientists (MDs, PhDs and PharmDs) focused on tackling the pressing

AMR public health crisis. The highly collaborative environment provides the perfect opportunity for trainees to acquire the skills, expertise and intellectual abilities to foster innovative research that has a strong translational component and could be developed to directly influence patient care. Along with a highly interactive AMR

Foundations course and myriad career/professional development opportunities, the proposed training grant includes expertise in and a focus on i) molecular basis of resistance, ii) bacterial genomics and bioinformatics, iii) diagnostics, iv) pharmacological aspects of resistance, v) microbiome science, vi) clinical epidemiology and

biostatistics of AMR and vii) antibiotic stewardship. We believe we are poised to continue developing a unique, innovative and comprehensive training program that truly provides trainees with exceptional tools and abilities and creates a strong cohort of new world-class AMR leaders and researchers.