Collaborative Solutions Targeting Antimicrobial Resistance Threats in Health Systems (CoSTAR-HS)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global public health threat. At the 71^st meeting of United Nations General Assembly in September 2016, world leaders pledged to work at national and international levels to address the rising threat of AMR. The rates of AMR are high in Asia – including Singapore – relative to many parts of the world, and it is one of three infectious disease issues identified as major research focus areas for Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 plan.

CoSTAR-HS has been funded for our proposed work to build up capacity, infrastructure and networking opportunities for AMR research in Singapore under the National Medical Research Council’s (NMRC’s) Centre Grant call in October 2016. It is a partnership involving researchers and clinicians from the National University Health System (NUHS), Singapore General Hospital (SGH), and Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC).

 Research Strategy

Our research strategy is to strengthen institutional and national capability in the development, implementation and evaluation of novel solutions or policies targeting drug-resistant bacteria, especially carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE).

Our focused research areas are:

• Prevention of transmission of drug-resistant bacteria, in particular CRE.
• Early diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant bacteria.
• Health systems drivers of AMR, and translation of research outcomes to healthcare solutions and policies.

 Facility Cores (click here for more details on each Cores)

Research Themes (click here for more details on each research themes)

There are 8 research themes within CoSTAR-HS:

1. Rapid platform for combination antibiotic testing (MCBT) to guide treatment of drug-resistant bacterial (especially CRE) infections
2. Novel diagnostics for the identification of AMR
3. Evaluation of novel infection control strategies
4. Optimising antimicrobial stewardship programmes in Singapore
5. Epidemiology, risk factors and outcomes of CRE in Singapore
6. Integration of whole genome sequencing (WGS) into infection control
7. Combining shoe-leather epidemiology with WGS to model and predict CRE transmission dynamics
8. Health systems and behavioral science research to address the drivers of AMR in hospitals