Published: 23 Jul 2024 | Last Updated: 23 Jul 2024 18:06:04

This week, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has announced its participation in the newly launched Agrifood Systems Transdisciplinary (AMAST) Network – a transdisciplinary project which has been established to better understand how antimicrobial resistance (AMR) impacts the UK’s food production and agrifood system and develop new ways to address these challenges.

Antimicrobial resistance presents a major threat to society. This is because with microbes becoming increasingly resistant to drugs, the ability to prevent or cure disease in humans, animals and plants is threatened.

Responding to this challenge, national and international governments and health agencies, are taking greater action to combat AMR. This includes the AMAST Network project which will receive approximately £650,000 over four years from UK Research and Innovation funding as part of its work to tackle infections.

Conducting this work, the Network will bring together various agrifood communities from various primary production and consumer systems, such as crop, livestock and aquaculture. It will also involve transdisciplinary academics, including bioscientists, social scientists, as well as other areas that may not have previously engaged with AMR as a challenge, such as the arts and engineering. The RVC will contribute its expertise in veterinary public health, food safety and food systems analysis.

Members’ perspectives on the key threats of AMR will then be gathered through interviews, workshops and themed community meetings to collectively identify and prioritise areas of opportunity, as well as understanding where more research is needed to address knowledge gaps.
Co-ordinated by Dr Matthew Gilmour, based at the Quadram Institute, and supported and partly managed by the RVC, the AMAST Network is also led by Newcastle University, University of Stirling, Royal Holloway University of London, Cranfield University, James Hutton Institute, Royal Agricultural University, Scotland’s Rural College, University of Bristol, University of Leicester and University of Southampton.

Dr Matthew Gilmour, Group Leader at Quadram Instiute and Co-ordinator of AMAST Network, said:

“We’re really excited to be part of this new community. The agrifood system is incredibly complex with a diverse community of key players that are involved in the production of safe and nutritious foods. So, understanding the challenges of AMR requires a non-traditional approach.”

Dr Lucy Brunton, Senior Lecturer in Molecular Veterinary Epidemiology at the RVC and RVC lead for the AMAST Network, said:

"This is a really exciting initiative. The collective strength of experience and expertise among the transdisciplinary community that we are building will help us to more fully understand the challenges and opportunities to control antimicrobial resistance in agrifood compartments, such as in farming and livestock environments.

“I am delighted to help lead this network in meaningful engagement between research, industry and policy to understand the challenges of antimicrobial resistance in our agri-food systems."

Additional partners in the AMAST Network include, ADAS, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), The Environmental Research Institute (University of Highlands and Islands), the FAI Farms, Fera Science, the Food Industry Initiative on Antimicrobials (FIIA), Menter a Busnes, NHS Highlands, Ricardo, UK Agri-Tech Centre and Vet Sustain.

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries, please contact:

• Jasmin De Vivo devivo@plmr.co.uk or rvc@plmr.co.uk
• Press Line: 0800 368 9520

For more information about AMAST Network, visit: www.AMAST.org.uk

To contact AMAST Network, email: AMAST@quadram.ac.uk 

About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London. 
• It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with reciprocal recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and the AVMA in the USA and Canada. 
• The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2024. 
• The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences. 
• The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021. 
• The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.