4 September 2025

AMR Hub Third Annual Research Symposium

On 4 September 2025, over 69 AMR Hub members and guest speakers came together for the third annual research symposium, held both online and in person across satellite sites in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane—plus international speakers – a format designed to reduce carbon emissions while fostering collaboration.

Organised by the Early- and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Committee, the event featured presentations from EMCR Hub members, industry partners Cepheid and SpeeDx, and guest speakers from a leading community organisation ACON and Australian company ZiP diagnostics , showcasing the exciting research and innovation underway across the Hub. The symposium explored key themes in diagnostic innovation and antimicrobial stewardship, including industry challenges in product development, the role of community engagement in driving diagnostic demand, insights from POC25 on priority diagnostic development areas, and the importance of health economics, modelling, and epidemiological data in building a strong business case for new tools.

A highlight of the day was the presentation of the Emerging Leader Award to Dr Emma Sweeney, in recognition of her impactful work in molecular diagnostics for sexually transmitted infections, her leadership in industry collaborations, and her contributions to national and international research strategy.

1 September 2025

22 July 2025

AMR Hub members at the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress

Congratulations to all AMR Hub members speaking and presenting at the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress in Montreal, Canada, from 26-30 July 2025. This year’s theme is “Sexual Health for All”.

10 June 2025

Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics Receives FDA New Drug Application Acceptance for Zoliflodacin, a First-in-Class Oral Antibiotic for Uncomplicated Gonorrhea in Adults

Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics and GARDP are pleased to share an important milestone: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially accepted the New Drug Application for zoliflodacin for review.

8 May 2025

Professor Catriona Bradshaw named to TIME100 Health 2025

Congratulations to Professor Catriona Bradshaw, for being named on the TIME100 Health list, which recognises the 100 most influential people in health in 2025. This follows her groundbreaking study on bacterial vaginosis (BV) published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March, and her pioneering work in sexual health.

3 December 2024

FIP Digital Events: Use of doxycycline for the prevention of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (DoxyPEP): Supporting evidence and the challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

Fabian Kong will be presenting “Important considerations and public health implications of DoxyPEP” for the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) on Dec 5, 2024.

30 October 2024

AMR Hub Researchers recognised in The Australian’s Top 100 Innovators List of 2024

Congratulations to SpeeDx co-founders Adjunct Professor Alison Todd and Dr Elisa Mokany, who have been named in The Australian’s 2024 list of 100 leading innovators.

24 October 2024

Dr Erica Plummer receives AMR Hub Emerging Leaders Award

Congratulations to Dr Erica Plummer for winning the AMR Hub 2024 Emerging Leaders Award for her work in the aetiology of NGU, cervicitis and BV.

24 October 2024

AMR Hub second annual research symposium

Over 40 AMR Hub members joined together for the second annual research symposium on 24 October 2024. Researchers from across the Hub met online and in person, with satellite sites in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

Lead by the EMCR Committee, the event included presentations from EMCR Hub members on new strategies to treat difficult infections, using genomics to improve STI management, and using laboratory models to understand infection dynamics, highlighting the important research that is being carried out across the Hub.

The event culminated with the presentation of the inaugural Emerging Leader Award to Dr Erica Plummer, for her work in the aetiology of NGU, cervicitis and BV.

18 October 2024

AMR Hub at the UNSW Urban Futures Expo

The AMR Hub will be taking part in the UNSW Urban Futures Expo on Thursday 21 November.

Explore the latest advancements in city planning, sustainable technologies, and mobility solutions. This event brings together thought leaders, visionaries, and experts shaping the future of urban environments. The 75 exhibits span:

• Advanced infrastructure & materials
• City planning & design
• Smart cities
• Healthy & inclusive communities
• Integrated transport & mobility

14 October 2024

Dr Wenyi Li awarded the Rennie Memorial Medal 2024

Congratulations to Dr Wenyi Li, who has been awarded the Rennie Memorial Medal 2024 by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI).

26 September 2024

Antibiotic resistance fears

Antimicrobial resistance could be one of the biggest threats to human health.

13 September 2024

AMR Hub Affiliate Organisation Session at the IUSTI World Congress

Friday 20 September, 12:15-1:25pm
ICC Sydney, Gadigal Country, Australia

Session overview:
The ARC ITRP Research Hub to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance takes on the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) for Australia through a partnership between industry, researchers, and end users. This session will focus on understanding the pathways to successful collaborations between academia, industry, and end-users.

This session will be Chaired by Rebecca Guy, Director of the AMR Hub. Presentations from Hub researchers Tanya Applegate, Jake Tickner, Fabian Kong, Qinglu Cheng, and Shiva Chandra with panellists Catriona Bradshaw, Virginia Wiseman, William Pomat, Fernando Pascual Martinez, and Alison Todd and facilitated by Willa Huston.

Please see conference program for further information and session details.

28 November 2023

UQ Early to Mid-Career Researchers Industry Engagement Awards 2023

Congratulations to Dr Emma Sweeney and Dr Jake Tickner, who have been recognised for their industry collaboration with SpeeDx for their project on ‘Developing precision diagnostic tools to combat antimicrobial resistance’.

2 November 2023

Positive Results Announced in Largest Pivotal Phase 3 Trial of a First-in-Class Oral Antibiotic to Treat Uncomplicated Gonorrhoea

The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) in collaboration with Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Innoviva, Inc. (Nasdaq: INVA), announced today that zoliflodacin, a first-in-class antibiotic, met its primary endpoint in an unprecedented global pivotal phase 3 clinical trial.

13 October 2023

Dr Emma Sweeney speaks about the REDI Fellowship and working with SpeeDX

Dr Emma Sweeney, 2022 REDI Fellowship recipient, speaks about her experience with SpeeDX and the Fellowship.

20 September 2023

Dr Erica Plummer receives ASRHA award

Congratulations to Dr Erica Plummer on winning the ASRHA Young Clinical Leader Award 2023. The ASRHA awards recognise outstanding practice in the area of sexual and/or reproductive health.

31 August 2023

UQ Research Partnerships and Translation Awards 2023

Congratulations to Dr Emma Sweeney and SpeeDx, winners of the UQ Partners in Translational Research Excellence Award for ‘New treatment strategies for mycoplasma genitalium: an emerging antimicrobial resistant superbug’.

18 August 2023

AMR Hub researchers celebrate their first annual research symposium

Recently, more than 60 AMR Hub researchers came together, virtually and in person, to celebrate the AMR Hub’s first annual research symposium.

This exciting event included presentations from industry and academia, with a view to celebrating the productive collaborative research being tackled within the AMR Hub. We had talks from Industry partners, Dr Elisa Mokany (Chief Technology Officer, SpeeDx) and Julie Phillips (Managing Director, Opal Biosciences), on industry perspectives for pharmaceuticals and molecular diagnostic assay design. Academic hub researchers also presented their important outputs, including tackling the development of “next generation” of diagnostic assays for STI superbugs, supporting antimicrobial stewardship at the point-of-care as well as diagnostics and novel approaches to accelerate drug discovery. We also had brilliant presentations and discussions surrounding the complexities of politics and economics related to antimicrobial resistance and modelling approaches to understand the impact of the diagnostics tools developed as part of the AMR Hub.

This symposium provided the perfect platform to highlight the important achievements we have made to date, and gain perspectives on where this research is leading us over the coming years.

16 June 2023

Wintermute Collaborates with University of Melbourne Researcher to Tackle Oral Gonorrhoea: Advancing Research for Effective Treatments

We are thrilled to announce that Wintermute Biomedical Australia has partnered with University of Melbourne researchers Fabian Kong and Antonio Celentano to combat multi-drug resistant oral gonorrhoea. Wintermute’s innovative fatty acid-based formulations will undergo screening in a novel oral human tissue model of gonorrhoea infection, with the goal of developing a topical product such as a chewing gum to prevent oral gonorrhoea infections.

13 Jun 2023

AMR Hub Researchers recognised in 2023 King’s Birthday Honours.

• Prof. Treloar FASSA was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to social research, and to tertiary education.
• Adjunct Professor Alison Todd FTSE, AM in the General Division – School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, UNSW Science. For significant service to medical research, and to tertiary education.

22 November 2022

Adjunct Professor Alison Todd and Dr Elisa Mokany (SpeeDx) have received the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation.

They have been recognised for improving personalised clinical diagnosis and treatments for a range of diseases and cancers, using ground-breaking molecular diagnostics technology.

Adjunct Professor Alison Todd and Dr Elisa Mokany (SpeeDx) have been recognised for improving personalised clinical diagnosis and treatments for a range of diseases and cancers, using ground-breaking molecular diagnostics technology. In 2009, the pair founded SpeeDx which creates faster, more accurate and cost-effective solutions to analyse and interpret genetic information. Its local manufacturing efforts have also meant the company is better placed to respond to instances of increased demand, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adjunct Professor Todd and Dr Mokany have also forged a trailblazing path for women in STEM and the biotechnology industry in Australia. Currently, 70 per cent of SpeeDx’s workforce and 50 per cent of its management are women.

14 November 2022

VIDRL becomes official partner of AMR Hub.

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).

31 August 2022

Associate Professor Eric Chow, Professor Christopher Fairley, Professor Catriona Bradshaw, Professor Jane Hocking, Professor Deborah Williamson Hub researchers win prestigious Eureka Prize.

Rapid rises in sexually transmitted infection (STI) and antibiotic resistance are a growing global concern. A research team at Monash University in collaboration with The University of Melbourne has explored new routes of transmission for gonorrhoea, and developed novel interventions and strategies to treat and improve the control of gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis and Mycoplasma genitalium and to optimise antimicrobial stewardship. This includes (1) conducting the first clinical trial to compare the efficacy of azithromycin with doxycycline for rectal chlamydia to inform Australian and international treatment guidelines; (2) investigating new agents for resistant M. genitalium and developing a novel resistance-guided treatment strategy to improve cure of M. genitalium that changed international policy and practice; (3) using genomics to respond to sexually transmitted pathogens; and (4) identify kissing as a risk factor for gonorrhoea transmission and investigating mouthwash as a potential intervention for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea.

03 August 2022

The ARC ITRP Hub to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance is officially launched.

On 3 August 2022, the AMR Hub was launched at a special online event. The AMR Hub is a world-first partnership between research, industry and other stakeholders to combat antimicrobial resistance. The event was chaired by Chief Investigator and Hub Director, Professor Rebecca Guy, with guest presentations from: – Professor Attila Brungs, Vice Chancellor and President, UNSW Sydney – Professor Sean Emery, Senior Vice Dean, Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney – Ms Judi Zielke, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Research Council

27 July 2022

Congratulations to the four MNHS nominated finalists for the 2022 prestigious Eureka Prizes

Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research

Associate Professor Eric Chow (Monash Central Clinical School), Professor Christopher Fairley, Professor Catriona Bradshaw, Professor Marcus Chen, along with Professor Jane Hocking and Professor Deborah Williamson from The University of Melbourne.

Rapid rises in sexually transmitted infection (STI) and antibiotic resistance are a growing global concern. A research team at Monash University in collaboration with The University of Melbourne has explored new routes of transmission for gonorrhoea, and developed novel interventions and strategies to treat and improve the control of gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis and Mycoplasma genitalium and to optimise antimicrobial stewardship.

This includes

• conducting the first clinical trial to compare the efficacy of azithromycin with doxycycline for rectal chlamydia to inform Australian and international treatment guidelines;
• investigating new agents for resistant M. genitalium and developing a novel resistance-guided treatment strategy to improve cure of M. genitalium that changed international policy and practice;
• using genomics to respond to sexually transmitted pathogens; and
• identify kissing as a risk factor for gonorrhoea transmission and investigating mouthwash as a potential intervention for oropharyngeal gonorrhoea.

Professor Rebecca Guy, AMR Hub Director, has been awarded the Gustav Nossal Medal for Global Health from the Australian Academy of Science.

The Academy’s annual medals recognise scientific excellence by researchers from the early stages of their careers to those who have made lifelong achievements. They are highly prestigious. Rebecca has been recognised for her role implementing and evaluating public health interventions related to HIV and sexually transmissible infections (STIs), particularly among vulnerable populations.

Postdoctoral researcher, Dr Emma Sweeney awarded REDI (Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry) Fellowship.