Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely recognized as one of the most significant threats to human, animal, and environmental health. When harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites can no longer be controlled with existing medicines and treatments, it results in greater disease spread, severe illness, and even death in extreme cases. To help address this global challenge, Iowa State University’s Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) partnered with the National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education (NIAMRRE) to host the Spring 2026 Research and Innovation Roundtable (RIR), One Step Forward: Combatting AMR Through Collaborative Research. The event yielded two projects selected for seed funding support from the OVPR.
The two selected projects tackle the AMR challenge from different angles: one seeks to dramatically reduce the time needed to determine whether bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, while the other aims to develop a rapid point-of-care testing platform that could help physicians and veterinarians identify effective treatments in hours rather than days. Each team will receive $60,000 in seed funding to generate preliminary data, demonstrate proof of concept, and position themselves for larger external funding opportunities through federal agencies, foundations, and industry partnerships.
“AMR is one of the defining scientific and societal challenges of our time,” said Vice President for Research Peter Dorhout. “Success will require cross-disciplinary collaboration that spans engineering, veterinary medicine, agriculture, microbiology, and public health. These projects exemplify the spirit of our Research and Innovation Roundtable program, and I look forward to seeing these two teams develop their solutions.”
TRAPS: Targeted Resistance Avoidance through Predictive Spectroscopy
Principal Investigators:
- Patrick Johnson, associate professor, Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University
- Britta E. Rued, assistant professor, Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, Iowa State University
- Lisa M. Stabryla, assistant professor, Environmental Engineering and Materials Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago
Identifying which antibiotics will effectively treat an infection often requires time-intensive laboratory testing, limiting the ability of healthcare providers and veterinarians to make targeted treatment decisions. At the same time, antimicrobial resistance continues to spread among some of the world’s most problematic bacterial pathogens.
This project will develop TRAPS (Targeted Resistance Avoidance through Predictive Spectroscopy), a rapid diagnostic platform that combines electrochemical sensing, Raman spectroscopy, and machine learning to detect how bacteria respond to antibiotics. By analyzing metabolic changes that occur when bacteria are exposed to treatment, the system is designed to identify antibiotic susceptibility in a matter of hours rather than days. Researchers will also use the technology to monitor how resistance emerges over time and evaluate promising treatment combinations, including alternative antimicrobial approaches such as nanoparticles and bacteriophages. The long-term goal is to create a faster, more effective way to guide treatment decisions while improving efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance.
“The RIR funding enabled our multi-institutional, interdisciplinary collaboration between engineering and veterinary medicine at Iowa State with the University of Illinois, Chicago,” said lead PI Patrick Johnson. “We hope the research will contribute to more antimicrobial susceptibility testing enabling practitioners faster and more accurate treatments.”
Rapid, Point-of-Care Electrochemical Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) Platform Development
Principal Investigators:
- Carmen L. Gomes, professor, Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University
- Jonathan C. Claussen, professor, Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University
- Qijing Zhang, distinguished professor, Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, Iowa State University
Doctors and veterinarians often must begin treating bacterial infections before laboratory tests can determine which antibiotics will be effective, contributing to unnecessary antibiotic use and the continued spread of resistance. Faster, more accessible diagnostic tools are needed to support targeted treatment decisions.
This project will develop a portable antimicrobial susceptibility testing platform that combines electrochemical sensors, microfluidics, and bacterial metabolism measurements to determine whether bacteria are susceptible or resistant to specific antibiotics in hours. By providing rapid, point-of-care results, the technology could support more effective treatment decisions and reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance in both human and animal health settings.
“If this platform works the way we expect, a physician or veterinarian could know within two hours which antibiotic will actually be effective, instead of waiting a day or two,” said lead PI Carmen Gomes. “Removing that delay is one of the most direct ways to cut the unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic use that drives resistance.”