Background

MePRAM Project on precision medicine against antimicrobial resistance is coordinated by CIBERINFEC, with the participation of representatives from the 31 research groups involved in the project.

“Precision Medicine Against Antimicrobial Resistance: MePRAM Project” is funded through the ISCIII’s Precision and Personalized Medicine Call, with a total budget of €4,339,500 for three years. The project involves 31 research groups: 26 from the CIBER for Infectious Diseases (CIBERINFEC) and 3 from other CIBER areas, spanning 9 autonomous regions and involving up to 76 researchers.

The project’s principal investigator and coordinator, Jesús Oteo, is the Scientific Director of CIBERINFEC, a specialist in microbiology, and a researcher at the National Microbiology Center (CNM). He has also participated in 13 other competitive projects funded by various public and private institutions in recent years.

Strengthening medicine against multidrug-resistant pathogens through machine learning

The project focuses on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the associated morbidity and mortality in prolonged hospital stays, posing a serious public health threat. “Infectious diseases are highly complex due to both patient variability and the diversity of pathogenic microorganisms, compounded by the increasing resistance to antibiotics. Therefore, it is essential to identify early and accurately the specific characteristics of the microorganisms causing infection or colonization, in order to reduce morbidity and mortality and even prevent infections,” explains the researcher.

This project arises from the need for a comprehensive approach to this problem through a precision medicine framework, analyzing individual variability to provide more accurate diagnosis and treatment. “New genomic techniques, therapeutic alternatives, and decision-support algorithms will be developed using machine learning and data mining, aimed at personalizing preventive measures for patients,” Oteo adds.

Other key pillars of the MePRAM project in its fight against antimicrobial resistance include the development of phage therapy against multidrug-resistant microorganisms, as well as the creation of a platform to enable the immediate launch of randomized clinical trials in personalized medicine for AMR.

Thanks to this project, a reduction in the number of AMR infections is expected, as well as improvements in diagnosis and treatment, and consequently, better outcomes for infected patients.