Amrita School of Biotechnology, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham hosted ALARM 2022 (Amrita Legion for Antimicrobial Resistance Management), a two-day hybrid Symposium entitled “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance – Together We Can” at Amrita School of Biotechnology, Amritapuri Campus, Kollam, Kerala.
The event was held in connection with World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, an initiative launched by the World Health Organization (WHO). The symposium aimed to spread awareness of the burgeoning antibiotic resistance crisis that threatens humanity worldwide.
Dr Bipin Nair, Dean, Life Sciences, Amrita School of Biotechnology, has been recently appointed as the vice chair of the India AMR Innovation Hub (IAIH), a national-level body handling research related to antimicrobial resistance.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve over time and are nonresponsive to antimicrobials making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease transmission, severity, and mortality.
Ph.D. scholars from the Amrita School of Biotechnology visitedfifteen schools to educate students about the antimicrobial resistance global crisis. The awareness campaign focused on emergence, transmission, prevention of antibiotic resistance. The campaign aimed at utilising a wider audience of school students who could, in turn, educate their parents and ultimately create awareness in the community. Various schools in the Kollam district were invited to attend the ALARM 2022 exhibition.
Invited guests for the inaugural event for ALARM 2022 included Dr. Anand Anandkumar(CEO, Managing Director, and Co-founder of Bugworks Research, Bangalore), Dr Ranga Reddy Burri (President of Infection Control Academy of India, Honorary Professor at University of Hyderabad), Dr. Rakesh Mishra (Director, TIGS-CI, Bangalore), Dr. Sandeep Verma (Professor, IIT Kanpur). Eminentscientists from across the world including Dr. VictorNizet(University of California, San Diego, US), Dr.Sutharsan Govindarajan (SRM University, Amaravati), Dr.Bhabatosh Das(THSTI, Faridabad), Dr.KalaiMathee (Florida International University, US), Dr. Patrick Secor (University of Montana, US), Dr.SrisairamAchuthan(Integra Connect, US), Dr.Anshu Bhardwaj (CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh) and Dr. Farah Ishtiaq(TIGS-CI, Bangalore) delivered talks on the various aspects of antimicrobial resistance. The panel of experts also discussed on multifaceted concerns associated with prevention of antimicrobial resistance, titled ‘Planning for Prevention: Together We Can’.
Ph.D. scholars from the Amrita School of Biotechnology, Ms. Amrita Salim and Ms. Nitasha Menon gave research presentations. Students also played a role in the awareness program, staging mimes on antimicrobial resistance and designing awareness posters.A poster-making competition was also organized for the school students. Amrita School of Biotechnology (ASBT) students prepared different exhibits and models for the school students and presented them in an exhibition.
The winners of poster competition conducted for the school students are BJSM Madathil HSS (1st prize), Amrita Vidyalayam, Puthiyakavu (2nd prize) and BJSM Madathil HSS (3rd prize). Also, the winners of poster competition conducted for the students of ASBT are S3 M.Sc. (1st prize), S5 BSc. BT-B (2nd prize) and S1 MSc.BT (3rd prize).
