A team of researchers at Oxford Population Health and the Nuffield Department of Medicine have been awarded the 2024 AMR (antimicrobial resistance) Surveillance Data Challenge Grand Prize. The data challenge aims to stimulate and support the innovative re-use of surveillance data available in the AMR Register.
The AMR Data Challenge was launched in June 2024 as a catalyst for innovation and support for the inventive re-utilisation of the wealth of surveillance data available within the AMR Register. A total of 32 teams with members from 27 different countries participated in the challenge. The challenge was designed to enable researchers to leverage high-quality industry AMR surveillance data, proposing ground-breaking advancements and tools for use in AMR surveillance.
The Grand Prize was awarded to Kasim Allel, David Smith, Nam Nguyen, Sam Lipworth, and Koen Pouwels. The team used the Pfizer ATLAS dataset to develop a flexible spatiotemporal modelling framework to estimate AMR dynamics from routine surveillance data, and to identify key change points in epidemiological trends.
Dr Kasim Allel, Researcher in Health Economics at Oxford Population Health, said ‘Participating in this prestigious data challenge has been an immensely rewarding experience for our team and winning it has deepened our commitment to leveraging data for impactful health solutions. We are especially thankful to Vivli for creating such an accessible and supportive platform. Our experience underscores the crucial role of early detection of shifts in AMR growth rates while developing early warning systems with limited resources, empowering everyone to address health challenges more proactively.’
Data challenge judge Seamus O’Brien, Director of Research & Development at Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) which helped to fund the challenge, said ‘The Data Challenge demonstrates the value of open access to AMR surveillance data through the creativity of the applicants in applying this data to innovative AMR solutions.’
The challenge was funded by GARDP, Paratek, Pfizer and Vivli and data contributed by GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Paratek, Pfizer, Shionogi, and Venatorx were made accessible through the AMR Register.