Yeah, alright, we know what we said last week about closures to the Fleming Fund (LSS 18 7 25), and how it depressed you all a tad. But be of good cheer, gentle readers- for London’s prestigious Imperial College has stepped up to the plate with its brand new Fleming Initiative, which is designed specifically to meet the crisis which we have been banging on about so assiduously for years. Apart from the fact that we’re up to our ears in Flemings, we liked this for several reasons [1]
For one thing there’s a proper Prof in charge of it, one Alison Holmes. Which means she will have the intellectual heft and departmental depth to sustain the thing down the long frustrating years that lie ahead. [2] Secondly, she clearly recognises the problem is multivalent. It’s not just going to be about laboratory research. They’re going to address behaviour changes, public engagement and policy to. Internationally. And when you think about it , gentle readers, a world institution like Imperial has a head start when it comes to making the connections and glad handing the movers and the shakers that will be needed to get things done.
So- in a rare moment of optimism to set against our usual gloomy tirades, we wish good Professor Holmes and her team every success in their new endeavour. We shall be following them with interest.
[2]https://www.fleminginitiative.org/
#imperial college #antibiotic resistance #medicine #public health #microbiology #disease
Learning, Science and Society 