The European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) today announced the launch of a new online hub for global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data.
Launched with the aim of making global AMR data more accessible and usable for researchers, the AMR portal will collect and present data on resistance phenotypes, AMR genes, and genome sequences, along with sample metadata, including information about the included bacteria, experimental methods, and the provenance of the dataset. The first release is based on a dataset from Imperial College London.Â
“Working with EMBL-EBI to create the AMR portal means these data are openly accessible, allowing the global research community to explore resistance mechanisms more effectively, build stronger evidence to support public health decisions, and promote the development of more accurate diagnostics,” Leonid Chindelevitch, PhD, of Imperial College London, said in an EMBLÂ press release.
EMBL-EBI officials say the next step will be to lower the barrier to allow more people to contribute data to the portal.
“As more groups contribute, this portal will naturally expand and become an increasingly powerful resource for the global AMR community, enabling the creation of benchmarking datasets for AMR prediction tools, and helping track resistance trends over time,” said John Lees, PhD, group leader at EMBL-EBI
