Using Machine Learning to Anticipate Antimicrobial Resistance for Pathogen Surveillance and Therapeutic Stewardship

Dr. Nicholas Furnham (primary)
Pathogen Molecular Biology
LSHTM
Prof. Taane Clark (secondary)
Pathogen Molecular Biology & Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology
LSHTM

Abstract

Antimicrobials against parasitic pathogens have transformed human and animal health. Their use (and misuse) has led to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that poses potentially catastrophic threat to public health. Sequencing offers powerful ways to respond to the development of AMR. To leverage this information, sophisticated machine learning approaches are required to identify potential resistance mutations. This project aims to develop a framework to understand the molecular consequences of variation allowing for the anticipation of resistance mutations before they become fixed in a population. It will have a direct impact in surveillance, stewardship and the development of new interventions.


References

Coll F, et. al. Genome-wide analysis of multi- and extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Nat Genet. 2018 Feb;50(2):307-316
Phelan J, et. al. Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole genome sequencing and protein structure modelling provides insights into anti-tuberculosis drug resistance. BMC Med. 2016 Mar 23;14:31
Sillitoe I, Furnham N. FunTree: advances in a resource for exploring and contextualising protein function evolution. Nucleic Acids Res. 2016 Jan 4;44(D1):D317-23
Gomes AR, et. al. Genetic diversity of next generation antimalarial targets: A baseline for drug resistance surveillance programmes. Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist. 2017 Aug;7(2):174-180
Rodrigues CHM, et. al. DynaMut: predicting the impact of mutations on protein conformation, flexibility and stability. Nucleic Acids Res. 2018 Apr 30.


BBSRC Area
Genes, development and STEM* approaches to biology
Area of Biology
MicrobiologyStructural Biology
Techniques & Approaches
BioinformaticsGeneticsMathematics / Statistics