In Europe, approaches to natural product discovery for drug development have largely focussed on microbial secondary metabolites. The plants, plant products and other natural materials used to treat infection in traditional and historical pharmacopeias represent a further potential database of antimicrobial compounds. Extensive efforts to mine traditional medicines from Asia, South America and the Indian subcontinent for novel compounds are being made by local microbiologists and chemists and have led to drug development (e.g. the antimalarial compound artemisinin from Artemisia spp., developed after study of a historical Chinese medical text).
A concerted effort to characterise, assess and exploit the extensive written and oral record of natural products used in pre-modern European medicine has not been made. This is despite the presence in pre-modern European medical texts of natural products known to be effective in vivo (e.g. Artemisia spp. were used to treat malaria in medieval England) or shown to possess antimicrobial and/or immunomodulatory qualities in vitro (e.g. Allium spp., Plantago spp., Urtica spp.) Given rising antimicrobial resistance and a stalled R&D pipeline for compounds to treat and prevent infection, a thorough scientific evaluation of European ethnopharmacology is overdue.
The main barrier to successful exploitation of the natural compounds database represented by traditional European medicine is the lack a cohesive network for researchers. This focussed meeting will bring together researchers from diverse fields including microbiology, chemistry, botany and the history of medicine, along with industry contacts, to reveal the current state of the art of the field and define areas for collaboration, methods development and translational research.
This Focused Meeting will take place on 29 October at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Freya Harrison (University of Warwick, UK)
Rowena Jenkins (University of Swansea, UK)
Olivia Corcoran (University of East London, UK)
Lori Snyder (Kingston University, UK)
Christina Lee (University of Nottingham, UK)
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Image: Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library.
Registration is now open.
| Type |
Early bird rate (Available until Tuesday 15 October) |
Full Price rate (Available until Monday 28 October) |
| Full member rate | £220 | £230 |
| Postgraduate Student and Undergraduate Student Member Rate | £170 | £180 |
| Non-member rate | £270 | £280 |
Upon registrating you should received an automated confirmation email. Please contact [email protected] if after 24 hours this has not been received.
If you need a letter of invitation for a visa application, we will be happy to supply this after we have received full payment.
Please note that all conference delegates are responsible for their own travel and visa arrangements, the Microbiology Society will not take any responsibility for travel and visa problems.
Payment information
All registration fees must be paid in full BEFORE arriving to the meeting. Any outstanding registration fees must be paid before admittance will be granted to the meeting.
Refunds will not be provided.
Sustitutions of attendees can be made at any time by contacting [email protected].
Please find more information about our invited speakers, who will present their work and research at Antimicrobial Drugs Discovery Focused Meeting 2019 below:
Cassandra Quave is Curator of the Herbarium and Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Human Health at Emory University, USA where she leads drug discovery research initiatives and teaches undergraduate courses on medicinal plants, food and health. Trained as a medical ethnobotanist, her research focuses on the documentation and biochemical analysis of botanical remedies, with specific interest in natural products that target antimicrobial resistance. She has authored more than 60 publications, 2 edited books and 3 patents and has been the subject of feature profiles in the New York Times Magazine, BBC Focus, Brigitte Magazine and the National Geographic Channel.
Christina Lee is Associate Professor at The School of English at the University of Nottingham. Her research interests have been the conceptualisation of health and disease in Early Medieval England and as such she met Dr Freya Harrison and her team in 2013.
The result of this encounter was the AncientsBiotics project which looked at the potential of Early Medieval/Anglo-Saxon and medieval remedies as potential sources for new drug discoveries. This research is ongoing and the team has recently been awarded an APEX grant from the Royal Society/Leverhulme Trust to explore the efficacy of remedies containing stinging nettles. Aside from researching medieval remedies Christina has published widely on questions of what it meant to be ill and or disabled in the Early Middle Ages.
Heather has an MBA from Exeter University, UK and before that almost 25 years of experience in direct patient care and business management. Heather believes in the power of storytelling and is passionate about making sure that organisations have a voice to express themselves along with the words they need and opportunities to do so. As Commercial Development Manager at Neem Biotech, Heather spends her time making sure that Neem’s voice is heard in the world of life sciences, taking care of the company’s brand and using the power of storytelling to celebrate success and convey the value of new innovations.
Scott is finishing his PhD Chemistry at the University of Aberdeen under the guidance of Prof Marcel Jaspars and Dr Rainer Ebel. He also obtained his MA Ancient History from the University of Liverpool where he investigated ancient pharmacology and the use of historical manuscripts for bioprospecting purposes, specifically Theophrastus’ Historia Plantarum and Pliny the Elder’s Historia Naturalis. Additionally, Scott was awarded a highly competitive Elphinstone Scholarship for his proposed work on bioprospecting historical manuscripts as well as other grants from the University of Aberdeen Library Special Collections.
Although his research career is still being established, Scott is passionate about the interdisciplinarity of the humanities and sciences and is an advocate for better communication and cooperation between researchers across disciplines. In October 2019, Scott is moving to Uppsala University to begin a PDRA, working under the guidance of Adam Strömstedt and Ulf Göransson.
This is a pilot meeting to scope what is needed in order to build an effective research network. We anticipate that this network which will outlast the meeting, and we expect that outputs will be shared with the wider network you represent. The number of places at the meeting is limited. Thus, please consider which members of your group will benefit the most from attending this specific initial meeting.
Bringing together researchers from diverse fields including microbiology, chemistry, botany and the history of medicine, along with industry contacts, this focused meeting aims to reveal the current ‘state-of-the-art' of the field and define areas for collaboration, methods development and translational research. As such, it will not comprise traditional research presentations but a mix of 5-minute introductory "flash" talks and structured round-table discussions to facilitate networking, collaboration, knowledge exchange and capacity building. Instead of submitting an abstract, we are asking potential attendees to tell us what they hope to get out of the meeting and out of the lasting network which we hope will result.
The submission deadline is now closed.
The poster session and short presentations will be selected from the submissions.
Submissions should be made through the Oxford Abstracts system. Both members and non-members of the Microbiology Society are welcome to submit their research. Once submissions are closed, these will be reviewed by session chairs and scientific committee members and you will be informed of the outcome directly. By making a submission to this conference, you are indicating to the session organisers your commitment to attend the event.
This meeting will take place at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK
There is no parking available at the venue.
As parking is limited in Oxford we suggest using the Park and Ride bus service.
There is a level access route from the pavement outside the museum to the front door.
There are lifts to all floors and level access to all public spaces, including galleries, shop, café, restaurant and to most of the study rooms.
Oxford is known worldwide for its University and history. For over 800 years, it has been a home to royalty and scholars, and established itself as a town in the 9th Century, although people are known to have lived in the area for thousands of years. Nowadays, the city is a bustling cosmopolitan town known for its ancient University and home to a growing hi-tech community. Many businesses are located in and around the town, whether on one of the Science and Business Parks or within one of a number of residential areas.
Oxford offers both ancient and modern characteristics. There are plenty of opportunities for visitors to be cutlurally active. Whether its visiting one of the many historic buildings, colleges or museums, going out for a drink or a meal, exploring the art and entertainment on offer, or shopping till you drop, Oxford has it all.
Accommodation is not included in the registration rates for this meeting. Please see below for some local options.
You can plan your journey via Google Maps.
The M40, M4 and A34 provide easy access by car from London, leaving the M40 at Junction 8.
The M40 links Birmingham to Oxford from the north, leaving at Junction 9.
The closest station to the venue is Oxford Station.
There are frequent trains from various locations such as London Paddington and Birmingham New Street. You can plan your journey through the National Rail website.
Coach services link Oxford with airports at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham International and Luton. For more information visit the Oxford Bus Company website.
There are various bus services running frequently to Oxford.
Some options for your journey are:
Society Conference Grants of up to £300 are available to support eligible members wishing to present at this Focused Meeting. Funding is also available for members requiring support for caring costs associated with conference attendance. Eligible members may apply for an additional £500 to support the costs of childcare.
The closing date for applications is Sunday 22 September. Members can apply for a grant before receiving notification about the outcome of their abstract submission. A conditional grant offer can be made without evidence of abstract acceptance if unavailable at the time of application. However, evidence must be provided to claim any grant offered.
Members of the Society who are ineligible for a Society Conference Grant may apply to the 3 September 2019 deadline for our Travel Grants.
Please contact [email protected] for further queries.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for this meeting. For more information, please email [email protected] or download and return the booking form below to ensure your presence at the event.
Antimicrobial Drugs Discovery Sponsorship Form