AMRSim: A Microbial Reality Simulator (for the indoor veterinary environment)
Start date
10 February 2017End date
10 January 2019Team
Principal investigator
Professor Mark Chambers
Professor of Microbiology and Disease Intervention, Head of Section and Animal & Plant Biology
Biography
Mark graduated in 1989 from the University of Bristol with a BSc (Hons) in Cell and Molecular Pathology and went on to gain a PhD from University of Cambridge in 1992 for his work on the immune responses to human papillomavirus type 16 in a mouse model. Then followed two post-doctoral positions at Imperial College London, working on viral and bacterial adhesins in recombinant hepatitis B core antigen particles and the rational attenuation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and expression of cytokine genes in recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG. In 1996 he moved to the government Veterinary Laboratories Agency (now Animal and Plant Heath Agency, APHA) to undertake work on vaccines, pathology, small animal models, and diagnostics for animal tuberculosis. There he led a number of Defra projects in this area, most notably resulting in 2010 with the licensing of BadgerBCG - the first licensed vaccine against TB in any animal species.
Mark has published extensively in the area of human and animal tuberculosis and related disciplines. He is a former acting TB Science Lead and Head of the Bacteriology Department at APHA. In October 2013 he was appointed Professor of Veterinary Bacteriology at the University of Surrey and held a joint position with APHA until February 2020. In March 2020, he joined the University of Surrey full-time to take up a new Chair as Professor of Microbiology and Disease Intervention. He splits his time 50/50 between the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Biosciences & Medicine. The joint Schools appointment reflects his research interest in both animal and human health, with particular focus on the replacement of animals in research, respiratory disease, oncology, and reducing antimicrobial use and resistance.
Mark is a Sustainability Fellow of the Institute for Sustainability at the University. In April 2023 he became head of the new Section of Animal & Plant Biology within Microbial Sciences. This Section includes individuals with multiple interests in One Health and Sustainability. He is working with University academics in the Departments of Sust, Civ & Env Eng, Microbial Sciences, Psychology. Comp Sci & Elec Eng, Food Science, and Mech. Eng. Sci, to develop collaborative research around the theme of biodiversity and One Health.