It has recently been announced that Dr. Brian Dixon of the Biology Department is the PI of a team which received a $2.1 million ($1.5 million of which will come to UW) grant from the InnoVet-AMR program. InnoVet-AMR is a $27.9 million initiative co-funded by the UK Government – Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) aimed at addressing the emerging global threat of antimicrobial resistance by reducing the misuse of antimicrobials in animal production in the Global South. In collaboration with external members on the research team including Dr. Mark Fast (University of Prince Edward Veterinary College, Canada), Dr. Mario Estrada Garcia (Centro de Ingenieria Genetica y Biotecnologia, Cuba), Dr. Laida Ramos Trujilo (University of Havana, Cuba), and Dr. Yamila Carpio Gonzales (Centro de Ingenieria Genetica y Biotecnologia de Cuba), this award will be used to develop the antimicrobial peptide pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) into a treatment for microbial infections in fish and shrimp aquaculture. By studying Tilapia, African catfish, and shrimp in Cuba, they aim to use PACAP as an antimicrobial immunostimulant that could significantly reduce the use of antibiotics in aquaculture, thus preventing the development of antibiotic resistant strains of pathogens, enhancing opportunities for export of Cuban aquaculture products and providing better food security for a growing global population.
https://www.idrc.ca/en/research-in-action/treating-microbial-infections-aquaculture