News

Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) at the Doherty Institute has officially joined the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research Hub to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

The partnership will connect scientists and researchers across VIDRL and the AMR Hub, as they take on the global challenge of AMR.

Section head of the Bacteriology department at VIDRL Franca Azzato said the partnership will help to further develop laboratory testing methods and allow for more collaboration opportunities for scientists. 

“It's really important to be able to have a consortium of people who are experts in the field that can work together,” Ms Azzato said.

“By having a group of people who are industry leaders together and sharing their knowledge, you can really start to hone in on better management of these antimicrobial organisms, and potentially find new compounds or drugs that we can use to treat infection.”

VIDRL played an essential role in the Asia Pacific region’s public health response to COVID-19 and has placed Melbourne’s scientific expertise in the global spotlight thanks to their innovation in testing technology. 

Established in 2019, the ARC AMR Hub has focused primarily on sexually transmitted microorganisms, which is a critical area of concern in Australia and our region, as an example of the wider problem of antimicrobial resistance.

For more information, visit amrhub.org.au.