The 4th annual Innovations Against AMR summit, co-organised by Medilink Midlands and Cytecom, will convene experts and stakeholders from across the antimicrobial resistance landscape to share insights, showcase innovations, and foster collaboration. Covering the spectrum from cutting-edge academic research to real-world implementation, policy, and surveillance, this year’s programme offers essential discussions for anyone working in AMR or related fields.
This year, we will also explore the far-reaching impact of AMR beyond the specialist sphere—shaping policy, influencing cancer care pathways, and protecting other vulnerable patient groups.
Reasons to Attend
1. Be at the forefront of AMR innovation: Connect with leading innovators, researchers, and industry experts driving advancements in combating antimicrobial resistance. Discover the latest breakthroughs and explore potential collaborations.
2. Support SMEs and foster growth: Learn about innovative solutions developed by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and contribute to their success. Network with like-minded individuals to create new partnerships and drive innovation.
3. Gain valuable insights and knowledge: Attend engaging presentations and discussions on the latest trends and challenges in the field of AMR. Expand your understanding of the issue and stay ahead of the curve.
4. Network with key stakeholders: Connect with representatives from organisations like Medilink Midlands, WMHTIA, Cytecom, University of Warwick and Microbiology Society. Build relationships and explore potential partnerships.
5. Contribute to a global cause: Join the fight against antimicrobial resistance by attending this event. Be part of a community dedicated to raising awareness, promoting best practices, and driving positive change.
CLICK TO BOOK YOUR PLACE
Agenda
9:30am Arrival & registration
10am Session 1: Institute to Impact – Research to Commercialisation
– Chris Dowson – Warwick AMR Facilities
– Kim Hardie – National Biofilms Innovation Centre
– Science Entrepreneur Club
11am Comfort break, poster boards & networking
11:30am Session 2: Diagnostics
12:30pm Lunch
1:30pm Session 3: Policy Workshop – Delivered by Microbiology Society
(Will Thompson, Policy and Engagement Officer)
The Microbiology Society is leading the way in tackling AMR through its ambitious and wide-reaching Knocking Out AMR project. This initiative promotes innovative solutions to AMR by fostering cross-sector collaboration and driving policy action. The session will open with a presentation introducing AMR policy and regulation tailored for SMEs, followed by a panel discussion featuring experts working across therapeutics, diagnostics, vaccines and regulation.
2:30pm Session 4: AMR and Cancer/Environmental
– David Eyre – Oxford Biomedical Research Centre
3:30pm Networking and posters to end
4:30pm Depart
If anyone would like to register their interest in presenting a poster, please click the link: Innovations Against AMR – Friday 21st November 2025
*Please register your interest by 5pm on 27th October.
Speaker Information
Professor Kim Hardie FRSB
Professor Kim Hardie FRSB, Professor in Bacterial Pathogenesis is Co-director of the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) at the University of Nottingham and Chair of the Publishing Panel at the Microbiology Society. Kim’s international career investigating strategies that could circumvent the rising issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) includes study at the Universities of Leicester and Cambridge. Kim’s research group investigates how bacteria form coordinated communities (biofilms) since these are notoriously hard to treat and have life-changing consequences. State-of-the-art multidisciplinary approaches are combined with realistic polymicrobial infection models to discover novel antimicrobials, more effective combination therapies, or diagnostic biomarkers.
Bob Roopra MBA FCIM
Bob has over 25 years of experience in the IVD and medical devices industry, with a wealth of expertise in executive leadership, start-ups, scale-ups, commercialisation, consulting, advisory, strategic planning, and implementation. His specialisations encompass IVD diagnostics, medical devices, point-of-care solutions, informatics, and disruptive technologies.
Bob’s broad experience across diverse sizes of organisation sizes has provided him with deep insights into strategic direction setting and commercial planning. His comprehensive knowledge of the IVD and medical device sectors, combined with his skill in crafting and executing business strategies, ensures outcomes that balance clinical, financial, and operational priorities for sustained commercial enterprise success.
Paul Fisher
Paul Fisher is the Director of Policy and Programmes at the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA), responsible for BIVDA’s government affairs, policy development, and advocacy work. BIVDA are the leading trade association for IVDs, with nearly 250 members.
Before joining BIVDA, Paul was a senior Civil Servant with the UK Health Security Agency and the Department of Health and Social Care, specialising in the delivery of significant government health programmes. He led the LAMP testing workstream during the pandemic, including mobile processing units testing specialist use cases and the prison testing workstream.
At UKHSA, Paul led diagnostic programmes including the COVID Test Device Approval (CTDA) team regulating tests for SARS-COV-2, and a diagnostic response to a potential H5N1 pandemic, before taking on a service transformation role.
Before joining the civil service, Paul worked in business transformation, assisting SMEs’ achieve growth or efficiency improvements, after nearly twenty years in the services.
Will Thompson
Will studied Biotechnology at the University of Nottingham, followed by a Master’s in Science and Technology Policy at the University of Sussex. As Policy and Engagement Officer at the Microbiology Society, Will has played a key role in shaping the Society’s policy outputs and stakeholder engagement around AMR. This includes a policy briefing on AMR in wastewater and developing AMR international engagement activities with the UK’s Science and Technology Network (STN).
Professor David Eyre
David Eyre is a Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Oxford and a Consultant in Infection at Oxford University Hospitals. His research uses routinely collected data to understand who gets different infections and why, and how best to prevent, treat and monitor these infections. He also focuses on developing artificial intelligence tools to help diagnose and treat hospital patients, and to help operational delivery of healthcare. His other research interests include the use of whole-genome sequencing as a tool for understanding the epidemiology and transmission of pathogens and how it can best be used in infection prevention and control.
To read more about Medilink Midlands’ role within the WMHTIA project, click here.
For more information on the wider project, click here to visit the WMHTIA website.
This event forms part of the West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA) event series. Medilink Midlands are one of a consortium of delivery partners for the WMHTIA, a project funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Innovate UK and West Midlands Combined Authority (part of City Regions).
