Antimicrobial Resistance Fighters

Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance to leverage strengths of the university and medical center to research mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance and develop new strategies for treatment and education
Test tubes in a tray in a lab
Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center launch Tufts Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance (Melody Ko/Tufts University)

BOSTON (March 7, 2019)—Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center announced today that they have united decades of experience and expertise in infectious disease research and clinical care to create the new Tufts Center for Integrated Management of Antimicrobial Resistance (CIMAR) in order to more effectively address the rise and spread of dangerous superbugs. On March 18, Tufts CIMAR will host a symposium honoring Stuart B. Levy, M.D., a pioneer in fighting antibiotic misuse and resistance.

"As the rate of antimicrobial resistance continues to grow worldwide, drug-resistant microbes are increasingly affecting clinicians' ability to care for patients," said Helen Boucher, M.D., co-director of Tufts CIMAR, director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at Tufts Medical Center and clinical professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. "Globally, we've had more and more cases in which we have to tell patients that they can't have chemotherapy for their cancer or are not eligible for a needed organ transplant or hip replacement, because we can't control their infection. This is the biggest reason we need to act immediately and decisively."

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to human health; 700,000 deaths worldwide—including approximately 23,000 in the United States alone—are attributed to AMR every year. The death toll has the potential to reach 10 million annually by 2050 if substantial progress is not made in developing new classes of antimicrobial drugs and limiting unnecessary antimicrobial drug usage.

Fueled by microbiological, evolutionary, environmental and societal factors, antimicrobial resistance management and prevention requires a multidisciplinary response.

Tufts CIMAR will take a "One Health" approach—respecting the critical relationship between people, animals and the environment—in conducting research, formulating policy recommendations, and designing educational programs to combat multi-drug resistant infections. With its experts' proficiency in research, patient care and health care policy, the center's goal is to make a meaningful and enduring impact on the fight against AMR, locally, nationally and internationally.

Read More