Revitalizing antibiotic discovery by a patient-centered paradigm shift
Antibiotics are powerful and indispensable drugs to treat life threatening bacterial infections, such as sepsis or pneumonia. Antibiotics also play a central role in many other areas of modern medicine, in particular to protect patients with a weakened immune system during cancer therapies, transplantations or surgical interventions. These achievements are now at risk, with the fraction of bacterial pathogens that are resistant to one or more antibiotics steadily increasing.
The discovery and development of novel antibiotics faces complex societal, economic, technological and scientific challenges. The declining pipeline for novel antibiotics and increasing resistance to existing drugs gradually reduces the options clinicians have to treat bacterial infections.
NCCR AntiResist
The National Center of Competence in Research AntiResist aims to bring about a paradigm shift in antibiotic research with an interdisciplinary approach that assembles a Swiss-wide network of research groups from the fields of clinical research, biology, chemistry, computation, engineering and pharmacology.
The research program is structured into three four-year phases covering strategically and dynamically evolving milestones. Research activities center around a better understanding of pathogen physiology in patients; developing axenic and tissue-based model systems mimicking patient environments; and engineering of novel screening platforms for the next generation of antibiotics.
NCCR AntiResist is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, and is based in the Biozentrum at its home institution of the University of Basel.
Watch below our short video produced by the University of Basel.
News and Events

EODI Events in March
Women get a well deserved spotlight in the month of March: it is Women's History Month, March 8th is International Women's Day, and March 23rd is the first, Swiss-wide Sexual Harassment Awareness Day at Swiss institutes of higher education. Please go to our Equal Opportunity, Diversity & Inclusion page to find out more about events and campaigns.
March 23, 2023: Sexual Harassment Awareness Day
Join in events Swiss-wide on March 23rd to raise awareness about sexual harassement at institues of higher education in Switzerland. In order to prevent and deal with sexual harassment in a study or work environment, we need to reflect on our own behaviour, respect the boundaries of others and take responsibility for ourselves and our fellow human beings. From campaigns at individual universities to Zoom discussions on specific issues, our programme offers helpful support for anyone wishing to expand their awareness and knowledge. Selected events will be live-streamed at the University of Basel at the Kollegienhaus and the Biozentrum. Find the full program, listed by academic institute here.
Spring 2023 Academic Semester
We look forward to an exciting semester ahead teaching and researching on antibiotic resistance. Our NCCR AntiResist community is invited to attend the hybrid seminar series on Monday nights. See more details on our Seminars page or view the list of speakers here.