Anti-Microbials Workshop, Singapore
To combat the tiny yet dangerous agents of debilitating diseases such as SARS, Hepatitis B and tuberculosis, A*STAR’s Bioinformatics Institute, the Singapore Eye Research Institute and the British High Commission held a UK-Singapore symposium on the current strategies in anti-microbial therapies in Singapore earlier in March this year.
In recent years, microbes - bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites – that are resistant to traditional antibiotics have been increasing at unprecedented rates. At the same time, only a handful of new drugs have been established to effectively target these ‘superbugs’. In addition to the existing mortalities from diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, one of the biggest emerging threats to global healthcare is their transition from hospital-acquired resistance to community-acquired resistance, which could result in near-unstoppable epidemics.
19 researchers from leading institutes across Singapore and the UK, representing a diverse range of disciplines including chemistry, genomics and biomolecular engineering, presented their findings throughout the 2 day workshop.
Following the symposium, A*STAR and the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC) announced the first call for joint research proposals under their joint Grant Call. The A*STAR-MRC Grant Call will inject S$6 million in fresh funding for collaborations between UK and Singaporean scientists on infectious diseases.
For more information, please refer to:
http://ukinsingapore.fco.gov.uk/en/working-with-singapore/science-innovation/
http://www.bii.a-star.edu.sg/symposium/JUKS09/
http://www.bii.a-star.edu.sg
http://www.a-star.edu.sg
Related Countries:
Singapore
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