Antimicrobial resistance (AMR): mapping the system behind the hotspots

A/Prof Teresa Wozniak will present an overview of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing global challenge in which bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, leading to infections that are increasingly difficult to treat. Teresa will introduce an AMR surveillance program in Australia, demonstrate how AMR and infection rates vary across regions, and explore why some areas become persistent hotspots. She will argue that traditional, linear approaches to AMR are insufficient and that a systems-thinking perspective is needed to understand the complex interactions between healthcare, communities, animals, the environment, and social determinants. 

A/Prof Teresa Wozniak works across population health and health informatics. She has cross-sector experience working in government, not-for-profit, and academia. Teresa established the AMR disease surveillance program, HOTspots, and the associated digital platform deployed into clinical settings as an interactive and secure disease surveillance system that provides ongoing automated synthesis of AMR across community clinics and hospitals in Australia. A/Prof Wozniak has a diverse portfolio of both quantitative research and research that is policy relevant.  Her recent work has supported the conceptualisation of early detection of One Health threats in Australia, and she continues to develop innovative methodologies to understand the dynamics of infectious diseases evolution and spread. She is the Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO - Australia’s National Science Agency.