TARGetAMR Publishes New Lancet Microbe Article Mapping the Power of Genomics to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance

TARGetAMR has published an opinion piece in The Lancet Microbe, outlining how microbial genomics can help deliver the UK Government’s National Action Plan (NAP), confronting Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 2024–29.

The article brings together insights from our national stakeholder workshop hosted in June 2025. As a UKRI funded transdisciplinary network across the Universities of Cambridge, Birmingham, Strathclyde, and Oxford, we work at the intersection of science, clinical practice, public health, policy, ethics, and public engagement. Our aim is to unlock the full potential of genomics in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The new paper is co authored by members of the TARGetAMR leadership team, including Co-Directors Professor Kate Baker (University of Cambridge) and Professor Willem van Schaik (University of Birmingham), in collaboration with experts from across the AMR community.

Why We Published This Article

AMR is one of the most serious global health threats, associated with nearly five million deaths worldwide in 2019. The UK’s new NAP sets out nine strategic outcomes across four themes, from infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship to innovation and global partnership. While genomics is recognised as an enabling technology in the NAP, this is the first time its role has been systematically mapped against the plan’s specific goals and research priorities.

What Our Findings Show

“Our work shows that genomics can be a cornerstone of the UK’s response to antimicrobial resistance, from tracking hospital outbreaks and informing infection prevention and control, to supporting antimicrobial stewardship and accelerating innovation in diagnostics, drugs and vaccines, genomics provides tools that make previously invisible transmission pathways visible.”

said Professor Kate Baker, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, co-Director of TARGetAMR and corresponding author of the study.

Through our national workshop and cross sector discussions, TARGetAMR identified several priority areas where genomics can have immediate and long-term impact:

• Strengthening surveillance through more sensitive and rapid detection of resistant pathogens
• Improving antimicrobial stewardship by guiding targeted, evidence-based prescribing
• Accelerating innovation in diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines
• Informing policy and implementation by aligning genomic evidence with public health and healthcare system needs

The paper also maps genomic approaches to the ten priority research questions identified in the NAP, including understanding the cost of AMR, addressing health inequalities, preventing spread, and ensuring that evidence-based interventions are effectively implemented.

Infrastructure, Data, and Workforce: The Next Steps

Professor van Schaik, based at the Institute of Microbiology and Infection at the University of Birmingham and co-Director of TARGetAMR, said:

“The UK has world-leading expertise in microbial genomics. However, genomics is ‘flying under the radar’ in the current NAP, and its potential is thus currently not fully realised. To realise the full benefit of genomics, we need coordinated infrastructure, improved data-sharing frameworks, workforce training, and close collaboration between researchers, clinicians, policymakers and industry. This publication sets out a roadmap for how genomics can move from a promising technology to a key pillar of the UK’s response to antimicrobial resistance.”

Embedding Ethics and Public Engagement

TARGetAMR’s approach is grounded in interdisciplinary collaboration, including ethical and social perspectives.

“By engaging with questions about how microbial genomics can support delivery of the UK NAP, we also make claims about how microbial genomics should (ethically) be developed and used as a basis for health policy decisions and health interventions in future. We wanted to engage with a wide group of stakeholders and have these in-depth conversations to make sure that we’re advocating for using these technologies in the right ways and for the right goals.”

said Co-author Dr Tess Johnson, an ethicist at the Ethox Centre, University of Oxford and Associate Director of TARGetAMR.

The authors emphasise that implementation remains a critical challenge. Barriers include costs, turnaround times, data integration, and inequities in global access to genomic technologies. The paper calls for sustained investment, strengthened cross-sector partnerships, and greater engagement with humanities scholars, social scientists and the public to ensure genomic innovations are ethically acceptable as well as effective.

Strengthening the UK’s AMR Response Through Genomic Insight

By aligning cutting-edge science with policy priorities, TARGetAMR aims to ensure that the UK’s thriving genomics community plays a central role in delivering measurable progress against AMR by 2029.

The full article, “The role of microbial genomics in delivering the UK’s national action plan for confronting antimicrobial resistance 2024–29,” is published in The Lancet Microbe